South Korea's terms of trade hit the lowest point ever last month as the growth of import costs outpaced export prices.

According to the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, the country's net terms-of-trade index for goods – a gauge of overall trade terms – dropped eleven-point-five percent on-year in July to come in at 82-point-55.

A lower index indicates worse trade terms, with the figure constituting the amount of imports a country can purchase for each exported unit.

The recent spike in the prices of oil and key commodities amid the ongoing supply chain disruptions were blamed for the widening index.

Import prices in July jumped over 22 percent on-year compared to an eight percent jump in export prices for the same period.

The bank said the trend is expected to continue despite the recent drop in the price per barrel of international oil as prices are still higher than that of last year.