Import prices drop in November, ending 4-month rise

Korea's import prices dipped in November due to a decline in prices for oil, chemical goods and IT products. Pictured are stacks of shipping containers at a port in Busan. [NEWS1]

Korea's import prices dropped in November after four consecutive months of rising due to a decline in the prices of oil, chemical goods and IT products, giving relief to the Bank of Korea's (BOK) rate policy.

The import price index declined 4.1 percent last month from a month earlier, following a 0.9 percent rise the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the BOK on Wednesday.

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

From a year earlier, prices fell 8.5 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 oil price, Korea's benchmark, was $85.35 per barrel in November, down from $89.75 the previous month, according to the central bank.

Import prices of raw materials fell 6.6 percent, while those for intermediate goods declined 3.1 percent.

The export price index also fell 3.2 percent in November, snapping a rise for the fourth straight month.

Meanwhile, Korea's inflation grew at a slower pace last month, though it stayed above 3 percent for the fourth consecutive month amid high prices of energy and farm goods.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 3.3 percent in November from a year earlier, compared with a 3.8 percent on-year increase the previous month, marking the first time in four months that the annual price growth has eased.

Last month, the BOK kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5 percent for the seventh straight time. The central bank delivered seven consecutive rate hikes from April 2022 to January 2023.

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