Import prices fall in May as oil prices drop

Economy

Published: 14 Jun. 2023, 09:24 Updated: 14 Jun. 2023, 10:14

Import prices fall in May as oil prices drop

Customers shop at a discount store in Seoul on May 23. [NEWS1]

Import prices fell in May to end a three-month rise due to falling global oil prices, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The import price index for May stood at 135.54, down 2.8 percent from April's 139.45, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea.

The index also fell 12 percent compared with a year earlier, marking the sharpest decline since May 2020, when the comparable figure was 13 percent.

Import prices of coal and petrochemical goods dropped 5.8 percent on month last month.

Import prices of crude oil dipped 9.6 percent last month. Imports for agricultural and fisheris products inched up 1.3 percent, while industrial goods fell 1.3 percent.

Import prices based on the contract currency fell 1.8 percent on month.

The country's export price index also snapped its three-month gain last month by sliding 1.3 percent on-month, due mainly to a fall in oil-related goods.

The index also dropped 11.2 percent on-year, the sharpest decline since March 2010.

Last month, the won-dollar rate stood at 1,328.21 on average, up 0.6 percent from a month earlier.

BY JIN MIN-JI, YONHAP [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]