Last month, a more than 28% surge in international oil prices led to a rise in import prices for the first time in three months. In contrast, export prices fell for the second consecutive month due to a decline in the won-dollar exchange rate. The increase in semiconductor exports contributed to the highest growth rate in export volume in 16 years and eight months.
According to the Bank of Korea's 'Preliminary Import and Export Price Index and Trade Index for September 2026' released on October 16, the export price index (in won) for last month was 182.29 (2020=100), down 0.8% from the previous month (183.67).
The export price index has decreased for two consecutive months, following an August decline of 3.5%. Although international oil prices rose, the drop in the won-dollar exchange rate caused most export prices to fall.
Last month, the average monthly won-dollar exchange rate was 1,359.00 won, a 3.4% decrease from the previous month (1,406.30 won). Meanwhile, the price of Dubai crude oil rose from $88.75 per barrel to $113.71, an increase of 28.1%.
By item, coal and petroleum products rose by 8.5%, while transportation equipment (-3.2%), electrical equipment (-3.1%), and computers, electronics, and optical instruments (-1.8%) saw declines.
However, the export price in contract currency increased by 2.6% compared to the previous month. Notably, while the export price of DRAM fell by 1.2% in won terms, it rose by 2.3% in contract currency.
Lee Heung-hoo, head of the price statistics team at the Bank of Korea, explained, "The export price of DRAM in contract currency increased by 8.7% in July, 2.9% in August, and 2.3% in September."
Last month, the import price index was 159.37, up 1.7% from the previous month (156.68), ending a three-month decline that began in June. Raw materials, particularly mineral products like crude oil, rose by 10.8%, while intermediate goods (-1.7%), capital goods (-2.4%), and consumer goods (-2.3%) all fell.
Lee noted, "While import prices include heavily weighted mineral products like crude oil, export prices do not include oil, leading to differing impacts from rising international oil prices."
Compared to the same month last year, import prices rose by 17.6%. He added, "By mid-October, the exchange rate and international oil prices have decreased compared to September, which will act as downward pressure on import prices, but we expect a high double-digit increase compared to the same month last year to continue."
Meanwhile, the export volume index for September was 181.31, reflecting a 32.1% increase compared to the same month last year. This marks the highest growth rate since January 2010 (42.0%).
Exports of computers, electronics, and optical instruments, particularly semiconductors and computer memory devices, increased by 46.6%. The export value index also rose by 89.2%. The import volume index (138.38) increased by 11.1% year-on-year, while the import value index rose by 26.9%.
The terms of trade index for goods (119.89) increased by 25.4% compared to the same month last year, driven by a significant rise in export prices (43.2%) compared to import prices (14.2%). The income terms of trade index (216.70) rose by 65.7% year-on-year, marking the highest increase on record, surpassing the previous month’s record of 59.9% for two consecutive months.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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