SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's trade volume topped 1 trillion U.S. dollars for two straight years, customs office data showed Friday.
The country's accumulated trade volume surpassed 1 trillion dollars as of Friday, after exceeding the level last year, according to data jointly unveiled by the Korea Customs Service and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It marked the fastest pace since the relevant data began to be compiled in 1956 that the trade volume topped the 1 trillion-dollar level.
If this trend continues, the trade volume was forecast to surpass the record high of 1.1 trillion dollars tallied in 2014, the trade ministry said.
The increased trade volume was attributed to global recovery in the manufacturing industry, higher crude oil price and stronger demand from emerging economies, which offset negative factors such as trade conflict among major economies, according to the ministry.
The country's 13 major export items, including semiconductor, general machinery, oil product, steel and automobile, led the overall export growth.
However, dependence on the key items reduced. The 13 export items accounted for 77.7 percent of the total export for the first 10 months of this year, down from 78.2 percent last year.
