South Korea's terms of trade worsened for the first time in three months as exports fell sharply last month, central bank data showed on Tuesday.
The income terms-of-trade index, which measures how many goods can be imported with total export proceeds, stood at 138.54 in April, down 0.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the first decline in three months. From the previous month, the index tumbled 7.8 percent. The net terms-of-trade index for goods, which gauges how many goods can be imported with a unit export, came in at 101.99 in April, down 2.2 percent from a month ago.
The worsened terms of trade came as exports, the country's major economic growth engine, declined at a sharp pace last month. In terms of volume, South Korea's exports reduced 2.9 percent in April from a year earlier. The export value tumbled 13.5 percent in the same period on the back of lower export prices, which tumbled 10.9 percent last month.
Falling exports offset the positive effect from low energy costs amid cheaper crude oil and lower prices of other raw materials. Import prices plunged 13.0 percent in April on a yearly basis.
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