South Korean exports in terms of volume increased for three straight months, but the growing pace slowed in July, raising concerns about the economy's main growth engine, central bank data showed on Tuesday.
Export volume index stood at 139.61 in July, up 0.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK) data. It marked the third consecutive month of increase, but the rising pace slowed from 5.9 percent in May and 3.6 percent in June. The country's exports, which account for about half of the economy, kept a 19th straight month of decline through July, the longest monthly fall in history.
In addition to the export value fall, the continued slowdown in export volume growth boosts concerns about the country's economic recovery amid the shrinking global trade.
The export value index tumbled 7.6 percent in July from a year earlier due to a slump in transport equipment, electronic devices and general machinery.
Import volume index retreated 4.9 percent last month, posting the first decline in three months as emissions-fabricating scandal surrounding German automaker Volkswagen reduced demand for imported luxury cars. The import value index plunged 13.1 percent in July compared with the same month of last year.
The net terms-of-trade index for goods, which gauges how many goods can be imported with a unit export, came in at 100.09 in July, up 0.4 percent from a year earlier. It was the lowest increase in about two years.
The income terms-of-trade index, which measures how many goods can be imported with total export proceeds, stood at 139.74 in July, up 1.2 percent from a year ago.
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