South Korea's central bank expects the country's export volume to pull back this year amid a slowdown in global semiconductor demand and a drop in oil prices.

The Bank of Korea(BOK) on Wednesday forecast nominal exports to fall one-point-four percent this year compared to a year earlier.

This marks a slight tick down as exports had logged solid growth in the past two years. After falling five-point-nine percent on-year in 2016 amid rising trade protectionism and a general global economic slowdown, exports had expanded nearly 16 percent in 2017 and again grew by more than five percent in 2018. 

Amid a slowing demand for semiconductors, outbound shipments of chips dropped eight-point-three percent last December, the first contraction recorded in 27 months.

Export prices of petrochemicals are also expected to drop along with falling oil prices.

The BOK, however, forecasts the export contraction to ease towards the second half of the year.