South Korea’s terms of trade improved in March from a year earlier as import prices fell at a faster pace than export prices, the central bank said Tuesday.

The country’s net terms-of-trade index for goods ― a gauge of trade terms ― came in at 88.98 in March, up 1.1 percent from the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea.

In January, the trade terms posted the first on-year decline since November 2012. The figure is calculated by dividing the index for export prices by that for import prices. The base year is 2010 with a benchmark index of 100.

Korea’s income terms-of-trade index, another gauge of trade terms, reached 119.92 in March, up 7.9 percent from a year earlier due to an increase in export volume, the central bank added.

The index measures how much can be imported with the total export value.

Exports, which account for about 50 percent of the South Korean economy, are forecast to grow 6.5 percent this year, up from a 4.5 percent gain tallied for last year, the BOK said. (Yonhap)