trade terms-August tally
S. Korea's trade terms improve for 3rd month in August
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's terms of trade rose for the third month in a row in August as import costs fell at a faster pace than export prices, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The country's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of overall trade terms -- came to 87.67 last month, up 4.4 percent from a year ago, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The index shows the amount of imports a country can buy for each unit of exports, with a lower figure meaning worse trade terms.
It is calculated by dividing the index for export prices by that for import prices.
August's improvement came as import prices sank 12.8 percent on-year, while export prices went down 8.9 percent, the BOK said.
South Korea's exports fell for the 11th consecutive month in August due mainly to weak demand for semiconductors and petroleum products.
Outbound shipments dropped 8.4 percent on-year to US$51.87 billion last month.
The decline came as exports of semiconductors, the country's key export item, sank 21 percent on falling demand and a drop in chip prices. Those of petroleum products also tumbled 35 percent on-year.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
