South Korea exports down for seventh straight month in July

South Korea's exports shrank in July for a seventh straight month due to sluggish global demand and low oil prices, government data showed Saturday.

Exports fell 3.3 percent from a year earlier to $46.61 billion in July, while imports plunged 15.3 percent to $38.85 billion, the Ministry of Trade, Industries and Energy said.

Car exports fell 6.2 percent on-year to $3.99 billion, while shipments of mobile communication devices including cellphones plunged 16 percent to $2.15 billion, it said.

South Korean shipments to China shrank 6.4 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said.

The country's trade surplus narrowed to $7.76 billion in July from the previous month's $9.98 billion. The trade balance has been in the black since February 2012.