South Korea's Import Prices Fall for Second Month in May
Hızlı Bakış
- South Korea's import prices decreased for the second consecutive month in May, dropping 0.3% due to lower oil prices, according to Bank of Korea data.
- The on-year import price index, however, rose significantly by 24.8%.
Yapay zekâ özeti
Neden Önemli?
South Korea relies heavily on energy imports, making import prices a key driver of inflation that affects production and consumer costs.
SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- Import prices fell for the second month in a row in May due to a decrease in oil prices amid the Middle East conflict, central bank data showed Tuesday.
The import price index fell 0.3 percent on-month following a 2.1 percent on-month decline in April, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
On an on-year basis, the index climbed 24.8 percent in May.
The decline came as the price of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, fell 2.4 percent on-month to US$103.15 per barrel last month.
The numbers have direct bearing on South Korea as the country relies heavily on energy imports.
Prices of raw materials fell 1 percent in May from a month earlier, while intermediate goods remained unchanged over the cited period.
Import prices are a key driver of inflation, as they affect production costs and consumer prices throughout the supply chain, according to the central bank.
The BOK data showed that the May export price index increased 0.3 percent from the previous month, extending its on-month rise for the 11th month.
Compared with a year earlier, the index jumped 46.9 percent.
Açık Sorular
- Will the trend of falling import prices continue?
- What is the outlook for oil prices?
