SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export volume kept falling for the third consecutive month last month due to lower global demand, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The export volume index declined 6.3 percent in December from a year earlier, after sliding 3.2 percent in October and 6.3 percent in November, respectively, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The continued fall came as rapid interest rate hikes in major economies stoked worry about global economic slump.

The export value index slipped 12.2 percent in December, marking the fastest decline in 31 months since May 2020.

The import volume index retreated 1.1 percent in December from a year earlier, logging the first slide in six months, while the import value index dwindled 2.4 percent.

The net terms-of-trade index for goods, which gauges the amount of import that can be bought with a unit-export proceed, went down 4.9 percent in December on a yearly basis, keeping a downward trend for 21 months in a row.