SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export volume fell last month on the global trade dispute, which weakened cross-border trade, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The export volume index slipped 0.7 percent in July from a year earlier, keeping a downward trend for three straight months, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

For the past eight months through July, the export volume continued to slide except April when it grew 2.2 percent.

It was attributed to the global trade dispute and the downturn in business cycle of the global semiconductor sector that lowered chip price.

Price for integrated circuit tumbled 25.5 percent in July from a year earlier, but the lower price drove up the export volume of the integrated circuit, including memory chip, by 26.8 percent in the month.

In terms of value, the export declined 10.1 percent last month, continuing to fall for the eighth consecutive month.

Japan's export curbs had yet to visibly influence the South Korean economy, according to the BOK assessment.

Japan tightened control last month over its export to South Korea of three materials vital to produce memory chips and display panels, before dropping South Korea this month off its whitelist of trusted trading partners. In response, Seoul took Tokyo off its whitelist of trusted export partners.

South Korea's import of machinery and equipment, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment, retreated 12.8 percent in terms of volume and 13.4 percent in terms of value each last month.

The country's import volume of electronic and optical devices expanded 11.6 percent in the month on demand for China-made telecommunication equipment.