S.Korea's import volume posts fastest growth in nearly 2 years in August

South Korea's import volume posted the fastest monthly growth in nearly two years last month, indicating expectations for economic recovery in the near future, central bank data showed on Monday.

The import volume index stood at 124.58 in August, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the fastest increase since December 2014.

Import volume of general machinery jumped 22.7 percent, with those for chemical products gaining 18.9 percent. Imports of primary metals and textile goods grew 10.8 percent and 9.2 percent respectively. Those for coal and oil products increased 10.1 percent last month.

In terms of value, imports rose 0.7 percent in August from a year ago, marking the first increase since September 2014. It was a rebound from a 13.1 percent decline in July.

The rebound reflected expectations for economic recovery in the near future. Slower fall in global oil prices also contributed to the rebound in import value last month.

The export volume index advanced 3.9 percent in August from a year earlier, but the export value index declined 1.4 percent amid lower crude oil prices.

The net terms-of-trade index for goods, which gauges how many goods can be imported with a unit export, came in at 101.29 in August, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier.

The income terms-of-trade index, which measures how many goods can be imported with total export proceeds, stood at 132.84 in August, up 5.2 percent from a year ago. Enditem