The pace of growth in South Korean exports is expected to slow down in the fourth quarter due to fewer working days and high raw materials costs, a local trade agency said Thursday.

The Korea International Trade Association said its export business survey index of 801 exporting companies stood at 100.3 for the October-December period, down from 116.6 for the current quarter.

It marks the third consecutive quarter that the EBSI has exceeded the benchmark 100 level. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a reading below the benchmark means the opposite. 

According to the findings, medical equipment makers and machinery suppliers predicted their business conditions will improve in the next three months due to higher demand for their products amid rapid aging and increased investments in construction projects in the US and Europe.

The EBSI came to 138.3 for medical equipment firms, 121.4 for machinery providers, and 119.1 for producers of agricultural and fisheries goods, KITA said in a statement.

In contrast, the export index stood at 99.9 for semiconductor makers and 97.5 for auto and auto components companies amid rising protectionism among major trading partners such as the United States and China, it said.  

On top of fewer working days due to the Chuseok holidays that fall on the first week of October, exporters also picked an increase in raw materials prices as a source of concern for their businesses in the fourth quarter, the statement said. (Yonhap)