South Korea’s import prices extended their fall in February from the previous year on tumbling oil prices, central bank data showed Friday.
In local currency terms, import prices dropped 17.8 percent on-year last month, slightly slowing from a 19.4 percent on-year fall in January, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. It marks the 30th straight month in which import prices posted a decline.
From a month earlier, import prices rose 2.8 percent, shifting from a 7.5 percent monthly fall previous to that as prices of Dubai crude climbed higher over February.
The BOK data showed that the price of Dubai crude oil jumped 21.7 percent on-month to an average of $55.69 per barrel in February.
Export prices slumped 7.9 percent, slightly slowing from an 8.6 percent drop in the previous month. On a monthly basis, they rose 1.5 percent, gaining for the first time since November. (Yonhap)
