South Korea posted a 54th consecutive trade surplus in July as a sharp decline in imports outpaced a fall in exports amid contracted demand at home and abroad, customs data showed Tuesday.

The country's trade surplus came to $7.6 billion last month, plunging from a record $11.4 billion in the previous month, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

The figure also marked a 7.8 percent on-year rise from $7.05 billion tallied in the same month a year earlier, extending its bullish streak to 54 straight months since February 2012.

The consecutive monthly trade surplus came as a protracted economic slowdown dragged down imports at a faster pace than exports.

Exports fell 10.3 percent on-year to $41 billion last month, while imports retreated 13.6 percent to $33.4 billion.

Due mainly to waning demand from emerging countries and a slowdown in China, the country's exports have fallen every single month since the start of 2015.

They touched a 19.1 percent on-year plunge in January this year, the largest decline since August 2009, but have continuously slowed down to mark a 2.7 percent drop in June on the back of rising oil prices.

But they widened again to 10.3 percent in July due largely to decreased working days and a fall in vessel shipments.

At the same time, the country's inbound shipments also saw contractions for 22 straight months. (Yonhap)