Seoul, June 01 (QNA) - South Korea's trade surplus widened slightly in May from the previous month as exports shrank at a slower pace than imports, a government report showed Friday.
    The country's trade balance was US$2.4 billion in the black last month, up from the $2.1 billion surplus tallied in April, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and relayed by S.Korean Yonhap news agency.
     Last month marked the fourth month in a row that the country posted a trade surplus, although trade volume contracted for the third straight month compared to the year before.
    Meanwhile South Korea's consumer prices grew at the same pace in May compared to a year earlier amid the government's push to tame inflationary pressure, a report showed Friday.
    According to the report by Statistics Korea, the country's consumer price index rose 2.5% in May from a year earlier, unchanged from a 2.5% gain tallied in April. The index rose 0.2 % from a month ago. (QNA)