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South Korea's chip exports (Yonhap) |
South Korea's semiconductor export prices sank to a new record low in October due to a strong local currency and slowing demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday.
The won-based export price index for chips came to 69.61 for October, the lowest level since the Bank of Korea began tracking related data in January 1985.
The figure is also off more than 30 percent from the index's base year of 2015.
The index reached 104.32 in December 2018. Since January 2019, the index has remained below the benchmark 100 and below the 70 mark since August.
"The sharp drop resulted from a combination of a plunge in overall export prices, a strong South Korean currency against the US dollar and a slowdown in global chip demand," a central bank official said.
The South Korea unit changed hands at an average 1,144.68 won per the greenback in October, up 2.9 percent from September and 3.3 percent from a year earlier.
Despite a drop in export prices, overseas shipments have been growing solidly. The chip export volume index climbed 12.2 percent in October from the previous month, and the export value index rose 9.1 percent, marking the sixth straight month of increase, according to the data. (Yonhap)
