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 US$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% 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% on-year to $41 billion last month, while imports retreated 13.6% 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% on-year plunge in January this year, the largest decline since August 2009, but have continuously slowed down to mark a 2.7% drop in June on the back of rising oil prices.

    But they widened again to 10.3% 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.