South Korea’s trade balance looks shaky as export prices fell in January for the third straight month in line with sagging chip prices that have fallen by the fastest pace in 89 months, while costs of imported goods jumped on higher crude prices.

The country’s export price index in January was 82.95, down 1.0 percent from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea on Tuesday. The index, which is based in Korean won and holds 2010 as the base year, has been sliding since November to hit its lowest reading since 80.68 in October 2016.

The fall was largely due to the 3.3 percent price decline in electric and electronic devices, chiefly semiconductors. As a result, prices of manufactured goods slipped 1.0 percent on month while agricultural and fishery goods gained 0.4 percent.

Prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, the mainstay export of Korean chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Inc., plummeted 14.9 percent on waning demand. The January decline was the sharpest since August 2011 when prices dipped 21.3 percent. DRAM export prices have been skidding for six straight months, the longest losing streak since February-August of 2016.

The Korean central bank said the chip industry was entering a correction period after a two-year boom, with prices pushed down by slowing smartphone demand in China and inventory adjustment among global tech players.

The price index of overall imports in Korea was up 0.1 percent on month at 84.98, rising for the first time in three months.

This was largely driven by the sharp rebound in global crude prices. The price of Dubai crude, the benchmark for Middle Eastern oil, reversed course last month, jumping 3.1 percent in January to $59.09 a barrel after falling 12.6 percent in the previous month.

In addition to crude, whose prices rose 3.0 percent, commodity price gains were notable in LNG (2.1 percent), iron ore (7.3 percent) and gold and silver ore (4.7 percent).

By Lee Yu-sup and Kim Hyo-jin

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