ANN/THE KOREA HERALD – South Korea’s import prices fell in February for the first time since September, driven by lower global oil prices and a stronger Korean won, according to Bank of Korea (BOK) data.
The import price index dropped 0.8 per cent from January, following a 2.2-per-cent increase the previous month.
The decline coincided with a 3.1-per-cent fall in the average price of Dubai crude, the country’s benchmark, which stood at USD77.92 per barrel.
From a year earlier, the index advanced 4.6 per cent in February.
Import prices of raw materials went down 2.3 per cent on-month in February, while those of intermediate goods inched down 0.2 per cent, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK0.
Import prices are a major factor that determines the path of the country’s overall rate of inflation.
The stronger Korean won against the US dollar also led to the decline in import prices.
The local currency came to KRW1,445.56 per dollar on average in February, compared with the January average of KRW1,455.79.
The export price index lost 0.6 per cent from a month earlier in February, also marking the first on-month fall in five months. Compared with a year earlier, the index surged 6.3 per cent. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose two per cent from a year earlier in February following 2.2 per cent growth in January.
The central bank earlier forecast consumer prices to grow 1.9 per cent annually in 2025.
“In March, global oil prices have fallen further while the local currency weakened. We need to monitor the situation given high uncertainties at home and abroad,” BOK official Lee Moon-hee told a press briefing.
