South Korea ranked ninth in terms of trade surplus with the United States in the first half of this year, up five notches from a year earlier.

According to data by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Sunday, South Korea's trade surplus with the United States came to 21-point-67 billion dollars during the first six months of the year, up 86-point-nine percent from a year earlier.

The trade surplus sharply increased as the nation's shipments to the world's largest economy rose 25-point-nine percent, while imports from the United States grew just four-point-eight percent during the cited period.

Accordingly, the country's rankings in the trade surplus with the United States rose five notches from 14th to ninth among some 200 U.S. trade partners.

The country made the top ten for the first time in three years since it ranked tenth in 2019.

China ranked first, posting a trade surplus of over 200 billion dollars from the United States in the first half of the year.