SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea posted trade surplus for four straight months to August due to a faster fall in import than export, customs office data showed Tuesday.

Revised figure for trade surplus amounted to 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in August, staying in black since May, according to Korea Customs Service.

Export reduced 10.1 percent over the year to 39.5 billion dollars in August, while import dived 15.8 percent to 35.7 billion dollars.

Both export and import slumped in double digits amid an economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak across the world.

Semiconductor export gained 2.9 percent in August from a year earlier, but home appliances shipment shrank 6.5 percent.

Export for car parts, automobiles, oil products and telecommunication devices, such as smartphone, all tumbled in double figures last month.

Shipment to China and the United States, South Korea's top two trading partners, fell 3.0 percent and 0.5 percent each, with those to the European Union (EU) and Vietnam skidding in single digits.

Export to Japan and the Middle East retreated more than 20 percent last month.