ANKARA

South Korea's exports decreased for the fifth straight month in February due to weaker overseas demand and downturn of the global chip market, official figures showed on Wednesday.

Outbound shipments dove 7.5% from a year ago to $50.1 billion in February, according to the Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry.

The figure was better than market forecast of an 8.7% decline in the month.

Exports of semiconductors, South Korea's key export item, plunged 42.5% year-on-year, hitting $5.96 billion in February, as demand declined and chip prices went down.

Petrochemicals exports decreased 18.3% to $4.6 billion, and steel products exports dropped 9.8% to $2.97 billion.

Shipments to the country's top trading market China slipped 24.2% to $9.9 billion, while shipments to the US and India increased by 16.2% and 11%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the country's imports grew 3.6% annually to $55.4 billion in February with a 19.7% surge in energy imports.

South Korea's trade balance saw a $5.3 billion deficit in February, shifting from a surplus in the same month of last year.