Korea's export value index falls for 10th consecutive month

Containers are stacked up at a port in Busan on Feb. 26. [YONHAP]

Korea’s export value index plunged by 15.8 percent in July from a year earlier, falling for 10 consecutive months, Bank of Korea data showed on Tuesday.

It was the index's third sharpest fall since negative 16 percent and negative 18.1 percent falls were reported in April and January.

The fall was led by coal and petroleum products, which fell 41.5 percent, followed by computers, electronic and optical instruments, which fell 26 percent. Transportation equipment was up 10.7 percent, while electronic devices rose 4 percent.

The export volume index was down 3.6 percent over the same period after it reported 7.5 percent growth a month earlier.

“Export volume for chips rose 4 percent from a year earlier, but the total amount fell 33.7 percent,” a Bank of Korea official said.

The import value index nosedived by 25.7 percent on year in July, falling for the fifth consecutive month since its 6.6 percent drop in March.

The fall was driven by mining products, which plunged 45.9 percent, as well as agricultural, forestry and marine products, which slid 17.3 percent.

Korea posts trade surplus for second month in row in July

The import volume index slid 10.7 percent last month, a sharp fall from its 4.4 percent growth a month earlier.

“Korea’s trade conditions are largely affected by global oil prices. Oil prices in the first half of 2022 were higher than this year, causing the import price to fall significantly in July,” the Bank of Korea official added.

The net barter terms of the trade index, which measures the ratio of a country’s export price index to its import price index, increased by 5.1 percent on year in July, up from 0.2 percent a month earlier.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]