[Asia Economy Reporter Eunbyeol Kim] The overall price level of South Korea's export products slightly decreased compared to August last month. This marks a decline for two consecutive months.
According to the "September 2020 Export-Import Price Index" released by the Bank of Korea on the 16th, the export price index in September fell by 0.3% compared to the previous month.
The index had risen for three consecutive months in May (0.5%), June (0.6%), and July (0.1%), but turned to a decline in August after four months, and continued to fall in September. Compared to the same month last year, it was 6.2% lower, marking a decline for 16 consecutive months.
By item, prices of manufactured goods such as coal and petroleum products (-7% compared to the previous month), textiles and leather products (-0.7%), machinery and equipment (-0.6%), transportation equipment (-0.6%), and electrical equipment (-0.4%), as well as agricultural, forestry, and fishery products (-1.2%) decreased.
On the other hand, chemical products (1.5%) and computers, electronics, and optical devices (0.4%) increased. However, within computers, electronics, and optical devices, the export prices of key items semiconductor DRAM and flash memory fell by 0.7% and 1.7%, respectively.
The export price based on contract currency, excluding the effect of exchange rates, rose by 0.3% compared to August, and was 5.2% lower than in September last year.
The import price index in September also fell by 1.3% compared to August, influenced by the decline in international oil prices.
The import price of raw materials, centered on mining products such as crude oil (-6.3%) and natural gas (-12.4%), decreased by 3.9% compared to the previous month, and intermediate goods, capital goods, and consumer goods also fell by 0.4%, 0.8%, and 0.3%, respectively.
The decline rate of import prices based on contract currency was 0.7% compared to the previous month and 10.7% compared to the same month last year.
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