Last month, as the won-dollar exchange rate and oil prices rose, import prices continued to increase for the fourth consecutive month.
According to the import and export price index statistics released by the Bank of Korea on the 14th, the import price index for January this year was 145.22 (2020=100), an increase of 2.3% compared to the previous month. This marks an upward trend for four consecutive months.
Materials and supplies (4.4%), intermediate goods (1.6%), capital goods (0.8%), and consumer goods (1.0%) all rose. Among the categories, the increase in mining products (4.5%) was the largest, followed by coal and petroleum products (3.5%) and chemical products (2.0%). Among detailed items, crude oil (11.4%), bunker C oil (5.7%), aluminum hydroxide (7.9%), secondary batteries (6.1%), and marine engines (4.5%) saw significant increases.
The rise in import prices is attributed to the increase in the won-dollar exchange rate and international oil prices. The exchange rate jumped 1.5% from an average of 1,434.42 won in December of last year to 1,455.79 won in January this year. During the same period, the international oil price based on Dubai crude (monthly average, per BARREL) rose 9.8% from $73.23 to $80.41.
Lee Mun-hee, head of the price statistics team at the Bank of Korea, noted that 'the rise in import prices due to the increase in oil prices and exchange rates is immediately reflected in consumer prices through higher consumer goods prices' and added that 'the rise in import prices of intermediate goods and capital goods affects consumer prices with a time lag.'
The export price index for January was 135.12 (2020=100), an increase of 1.2% compared to December of last year (133.56). This marks an upward trend for four consecutive months. By item, manufactured goods rose 1.2%, led by coal and petroleum products (7.3%), chemical products (1.4%), and electrical equipment (1.6%), while agricultural, forestry, and fishery products fell by 0.8%.
Last month's trade index (dollar basis) showed that the import quantity index (110.30) and import amount index (130.65) fell by 3.8% and 7.1%, respectively, compared to the same month last year. The export quantity index (101.49) and export amount index (112.75) also fell by 10.7% and 11.1%, respectively.
The terms of trade index for net goods (93.79) rose 3.1% compared to the same month last year, marking an increase for 19 consecutive months. The terms of trade index for net goods is a figure that indexes the amount of goods that can be imported for one unit of export value, meaning that a positive value indicates an increase in the quantity of goods that can be purchased abroad. The income terms of trade index, which indicates the quantity of goods that can be imported with the total export value, stood at 95.19, a decrease of 7.9% from a year ago.