South Korea’s import price index in May jumped over 30 percent from a year ago, due mainly to rising global oil prices.
 
According to the data released by the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Wednesday, the import price index last month increased 32 percent on-year to reach 176-point-five, rising for the 18th consecutive month.
 
The index of mining products surged 75-point-seven percent, while that of metal products and coal and petroleum ones posted a respective gain of 42-point-one percent and 40-point-six percent.
 
The import volume index in May stood at 128-point-08, up six-point-two percent from a year earlier. The index declined five percent on-year in April before showing an upward trend again last month.
 
The export price index in May, meanwhile, rose 19-point-nine percent on-year to 146-point-81, while the export volume index reached 124-point-86 with a year-on-year increase of seven-point-nine percent.
 
The BOK’s data showed Korea’s net barter terms of trade index in the same month decreased ten-point six- percent from a year ago, as the import price rose more than the export price.
 
The index, which gauges the amount of imports that can be purchased with a single unit of exports, dropped for 14 months in a row. A falling index means worsening trade conditions.
 
The income terms of trade index, which measures the amount of goods that a country can import with its total exports, fell three-point-six percent, declining for four straight months.