South Korea's exports are expected to contract in the fourth quarter due to a lingering slump in global demand, but its pace will slightly slow down, a think tank said Wednesday.
  

The Korea Exim Bank Oversea Economic Research Center said the value of outbound shipments by Asia's fourth-largest economy will likely decrease 9 percent on-year in the October-December period.
  

The country's exports reached US$128.3 billion won in the July-September period, dropping 9.5 percent from a year earlier.
  

The center based the slowdown in the fall in exports on an improvement in the so-called export leading index.
  

The index stood at 115.2 for the current quarter, up from 111.1 three months earlier, it said.
  

It is a gauge of future exports by assessing economic conditions of South Korea's buyers, raw material imports, foreign exchange rates and other variables, with the 2010 figure set at 100.
  

The index bounced back in the third quarter after three straight quarters of decline in the second quarter.
  

"Big trade partners like the United States and China are showing tepid signs of recovery," said the Korea Exim Bank, the state-run policy lender. "But the downside pace is expected to slow in the coming months as we can see a rise in raw material imports and a weakening local currency against the U.S. dollar."
  

Meanwhile, the business index for local exporters edged up to 94 in the third quarter from 93 three months earlier, rising for a second consecutive quarter. (Yonhap)