The country has had eight consecutive months of positive trade balance and has accumulated a surplus of US$ 12.876 billion so far this year.

Argentina posted a trade surplus of US$1.575 billion in July, after registering US$7.221 billion in exports and US$5.646 billion in imports, the government statistics office announced on Tuesday.

This figure contrasts with the negative balance of 700 million dollars in the same month last year, when Argentina's agricultural shipments were hit hard by the effects of a severe drought.

The latest surplus marks the eighth consecutive positive monthly figure, slightly below the $1.6 billion forecast in a Reuters poll.

The positive balance for July, however, represents a 16.6% drop compared to the surplus achieved last June, a decline that is explained by a seasonal decrease in the exportable supply of primary products and agricultural manufactures and an increase in energy imports in the southern winter.

According to the INDEC, the volume of trade (exports plus imports) increased in July by only 0.4% year-on-year, to a total of US$ 12.867 billion.

In the first seven months of the year, Argentina accumulated a trade surplus of US$ 12,262 million, given that exports amounted to 45,397 million and imports, to US$ 33,135 million. The country registered a trade deficit of 6,925 million last year.