South Korea Has $8.72 Billion Trade Surplus In January

(RTTNews) - South Korea posted a merchandise trade surplus of $8.72 billion in January, Statistics Korea said on Thursday.

That was roughly in line with expectations and down slightly from $8.74 billion in December.

Exports surged 33.8 percent on year, shy of expectations for an increase of 33.9 percent but up sharply from 13.3 percent in the previous month.

Imports rose an annual 11.6 percent versus expectations for a gain of 11.7 percent but still up from 4.6 percent a month earlier.