S. Korea's exports drop 15.8 pct on-year in Oct.

South Korea's exports contracted from a year earlier for the 10th straight month in October, but its trade surplus remained in the black as imports slipped at a faster rate, the government said Sunday.

Outbound shipments came to $43.47 billion last month, down 15.8 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The drop marks the sharpest fall in six years.

Imports fell 16.6 percent on-year to $36.78 billion.

The country's trade surplus stood at $6.69 billion, down from an all-time high of $8.9 billion tallied the month before.

October also marked the 45th straight month of surplus. (Yonhap)