SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's trade index hit the lowest in over four years in November on expensive crude oil, central bank data showed Friday.

The net terms-of-trade index for goods stood at 90.49 in November, down 10.9 percent from a year earlier, according to Bank of Korea (BOK). It was the lowest since October 2014.

The index indicates the amount of import that can be bought with a unit-export proceeds.

The worsened trade index came amid the higher global crude oil price, which turned upward from December last year.

Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, soared 42.9 percent in October from a year earlier. The October crude oil price was reflected in the November terms of trade.

Export volume grew 2.9 percent in November from a year ago, while import volume rose 0.4 percent in the month.

In terms of value, export added 1.5 percent. The import value surged 11.2 percent on higher crude oil price.