July Import Amount Index Up 38.2%... 8 Consecutive Months of Growth

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] As crude oil and raw material prices rise, South Korea's import value level has generally increased by nearly 40% compared to a year ago.

According to the 'July Trade Index and Terms of Trade' (based on the dollar) statistics released by the Bank of Korea on the 25th, last month's import value index (148.79, base year 2015 = 100) rose 38.2% compared to a year earlier. It has increased for eight consecutive months since December last year (2.9%), but the rate of increase was slightly lower than in June (40.1%). The import volume index (126.44) also rose 9.1% compared to July last year, marking an 11-month upward trend.

By item, the import value index for coal and petroleum products rose sharply by 123%, while primary metal products and mining products increased by 106.1% and 81.4%, respectively. Based on the import volume index, transportation equipment (45.0%) and primary metal products (44.8%) showed high growth rates.

The export value index in July (132.37) also increased by 31.4% compared to a year ago. However, the pace of increase slowed compared to June (40.7%). The export volume index (120.79) rose 7.3%, continuing an 11-month consecutive upward trend.

In particular, export values of coal and petroleum products (73.9%) and primary metal products (47.6%) increased significantly. In terms of export volume, electrical equipment (23.1%) showed notable growth.

The net commodity terms of trade index fell 3.2% compared to July last year. This was mainly due to import prices (+26.6%) rising more than export prices (+22.5%). The net commodity terms of trade index is the ratio of the price of one unit of export goods to the price of one unit of import goods, indicating how much quantity of goods South Korea can import with one unit of export.

Regarding the income terms of trade index, it rose 3.8% due to the increase in the export volume index (+7.3%). The income terms of trade index represents the total quantity of goods that can be imported with South Korea's total export value.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.