October Import Value Index Rises 39%... Petroleum Sees Largest Increase in 31 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Due to the recent surge in international oil prices, South Korea's import value increased by 39% compared to one year ago.

According to the 'October Trade Index and Terms of Trade (Dollar-based)' statistics released by the Bank of Korea on the 24th, last month's import value index (150.27, based on 2015=100) rose 39.0% compared to one year ago.

This marks the 11th consecutive month of increase since December last year (2.9%), with the rate of increase larger than that of September (33.8%).

The import quantity index (123.92) rose 7.1%, marking 14 consecutive months of increase.

Based on the import value index, the year-on-year increase rate for coal and petroleum products reached 213.1%, the largest increase since November 1990 (448.6%).

Choi Jinman, team leader of the Price Statistics Team at the Bank of Korea's Economic Statistics Bureau, stated, "The recent rise in international oil prices had a significant impact."

Looking at the import quantity index, the highest growth rates were in coal and petroleum products (81.0%), primary metal products (21.3%), and machinery and equipment (17.0%), respectively.

The October export value index (133.92) also rose 25.2% compared to one year ago, maintaining an upward trend for 12 consecutive months. The export quantity index (121.02) increased by 3.4%, recovering from the decline in September (-2.4%).

Regarding the income terms of trade index, although the export quantity index turned positive, the decline in the net goods terms of trade index deepened, resulting in a 3.6% decrease compared to one year ago.

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