Import prices rise for 4th month in October on higher oil prices

Shipping containers stacked at Busan Port are pictured on Monday. [NEWS1]

Import prices rose for the fourth straight month in October due to the higher prices of oil, chemical goods and IT products, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The import price index rose 0.5 percent last month from a month earlier, following a 3 percent increase the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

In August, the index spiked by 4.2 percent, the most in 17 months.

From a year earlier, prices fell 10.2 percent, the data showed.

Import prices are a major factor that determines the path of the country's overall rate of inflation.

The Dubai crude price, Korea's benchmark, stood at $89.75 per barrel in October, down from $93.25 the previous month, according to the central bank.

Import prices of raw materials rose 5.8 percent, while those for intermediate goods gained 2 percent.

The export price index also rose 0.5 percent in October, marking a rise for the fourth straight month.

Meanwhile, inflation grew at a faster pace in October, staying above 3 percent for the third consecutive month due to higher prices of energy and farm goods.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 3.8 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 3.7 percent on-year increase the previous month, marking the third month in a row that annual price growth has picked up pace, though inflation has generally been moderating recently.

Last month, the central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5 percent for the sixth straight time.

The central bank delivered seven consecutive rate hikes from April 2022 to January.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]