South Korea exports fall for second month

The export volume index fell 3.2% in April from a year earlier, after sliding 2.7% in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. — Reuters

SEOUL: South Korea’s export volume fell for the second consecutive month in April due to lower demand for semiconductors, central bank data shows.

The export volume index fell 3.2% in April from a year earlier, after sliding 2.7% in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.

In terms of volume, the outbound shipment of computers, electronic and optical devices, including semiconductors, tumbled 17.8% in April on a yearly basis.

The export value index tumbled 16% in April from a year earlier, keeping a downward trend for the seventh successive month.

The import volume index slipped 0.9%, while the import value index retreated 13.5% last month.

The net terms-of-trade index for goods, which gauges the amount of import that can be bought with a unit-export income, went down 0.5% in April from a year ago on the faster fall in export prices than import prices. — Xinhua