South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 35th month in a row in December, helped by a rise in overseas shipments and a decline in imports, customs data showed Thursday.

According to the data released by the Korea Customs Service, the country's trade surplus came to $5.74 billion last month, up from $5.39 billion tallied for the previous month and $3.63 billion a year earlier.

Exports moved up 3.6 percent on-year to $49.7 billion, while imports contracted 0.9 percent to $43.95 billion. Export, import and surplus numbers are roughly on par with provisional figures released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy on Jan. 1.

South Korea's latest trade surplus streak has been maintained without interruption since February 2012.

Overseas sales of semiconductors rose 11.6 percent, with cars, liquid crystal devices and mobile telecommunication equipment all posting gains.

Sales of ships fell 3.8 percent with refined petroleum products, automobile parts and consumer electronics all losing ground last month compared to the year before.

By country, exports to China and the United States gained 1.6 percent and 21.5 percent, respectively. Shipments to the European Union, the Middle East and Australia all moved up. On the other hand, exports to Latin America and Japan were down 5.8 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.

In regards to imports, demand for computer chips soared 23.8 percent, with numbers for IT and steel products also moving up. Imports from China jumped 21.6 percent with more products being brought in from the European Union, the United States and Latin American countries.

For the whole of 2014, the country's cumulative exports reached $573.1 billion while imports came to $525.6 billion. The trade surplus for the year hit a new record high of $47.5 billion, the customs service data showed. (Yonhap)