SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export volume fell for four straight months to August due to the weakened global trade, central bank data showed Friday.
The export volume index slipped 5.8 percent in August from a year earlier, continuing to slide since May, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The local currency depreciated versus the U.S. dollar amid the global trade dispute, raising the price competitiveness of domestic exporters.
However, the export volume kept reducing amid the weakened global trade volume.
Export volume for machinery and equipment dipped 11 percent in the month, with those for primary metal products and electronic & optical devices diminishing 5.8 percent and 5.1 percent each.
The shipment for integrated circuits, including memory chips, picked up 21.2 percent in August, after jumping 27.6 percent in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the export value index tumbled 15.6 percent in August from a year earlier, keeping a downward trend for the ninth consecutive month.
In terms of value, the export of integrated circuits plunged 27.8 percent on the lower product price, indicating the continued downturn in business cycle of the global chip industry.
The import volume index rose 1.5 percent in August from a year ago, but the import value index shrank 4.7 percent on cheaper global crude oil.
