UPDATE 1-Chile copper export revenue down 22 pct in July

(Recast, adds background)

SANTIAGO Aug 17 (Reuters) - The value of Chile's copper exports amounted to $2.542 billion in July, the central bank said Monday, rising to its highest level in nearly a year as world copper prices recover.

Exports totalled $3.247 billion in July of 2008.

The value of Chile's copper exports came to $1.979 billion in June, the central bank reported last month.

Chile is the world's top copper producer, mining about a third of global supply. A sharp drop in copper prices from record highs last year due to the global economic crisis has curtailed the South American country's revenue intake.

Still, copper prices surged to a fresh 10-1/2-month high last week on growing investor sentiment that the worldwide financial storm is nearing its end. (Reporting by Santiago newsroom; Editing by John Picinich)