SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea is considering developing a new leading indicator for trade conditions this year to better predict the economic trends of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, officials said Friday.

Statistics Korea said the government is thinking of developing an indicator that would measure economic outlooks by tracking the trends of the country’s exports and imports.

The index will be made by calculating an on-month growth rate of customs-cleared exports and imports, according to officials.

Currently, the Korea Customs Service unveils the value of exports and imports on a customs-cleared basis every month.

The reading on exports above the benchmark 50 means that overseas shipments would pick up in more than six months. The corresponding index on imports above 50 means that the economy is highly likely to expand in about one year.

The move came as the Korean economy is still vulnerable to the global economic conditions due to its heavy dependence on exports for growth, necessitating the creation of precise tools to predict the trend of trades.

Exports account for more than 50 percent of Korea’s gross domestic product.

The Korean economy is expected to grow 2.8 percent this year with goods exports likely rising 5.5 percent, according to the central bank.