Import prices rose for the third straight month as international oil prices and the won-dollar exchange rate climbed.

According to export and import price index statistics released by the Bank of Korea on the 17th, the import price index (won-based, preliminary; 2020=100) for Sept. stood at 135.43, up 0.2% from 134.21 in Aug. The import price index has risen for three consecutive months since July.

Price display board at a downtown Seoul gas station on the 12th. /Courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

Materials and supplies fell 0.1%, led by mining products (-0.2%). Intermediate goods rose 0.5% as basic metal products (1.3%), computers, electronic and optical equipment (0.7%), and coal and petroleum products (1.3%) increased. Capital goods fell 0.2%, and consumer goods rose 0.1%.

By detailed item, coffee (7.6%), refined precious metals (4.5%), fresh marine products (3.4%), jet fuel (3.4%), and refined copper (3.1%) posted sharp gains. According to the Bank of Korea, import prices rose as international oil prices and the won-dollar exchange rate increased.

The won-dollar exchange rate rose 0.2% from an average of 1,389.66 won in Aug. to 1,391.83 won in Sept. Over the same period, international oil prices, based on Dubai crude (monthly average), climbed 0.9% from $69.39 per barrel to $70.01.

The export price index (won-based) for Sept. was 129.50, up 0.6% from 128.69 in Aug. Export prices also rose from July through Sept. By category, agricultural, forestry and fishery products rose 0.6%, and industrial products rose 0.6%, led by coal and petroleum products (2.1%) and computers, electronic and optical equipment (0.7%).

In Sept., the trade index (dollar-based) showed the import volume index (124.50) and import value index (144.63) up 13.7% and 7.8%, respectively, from a year earlier. Exports also increased, with the volume index (137.23) and value index (152.00) up 14.4% and 12.0%, respectively.

The Bank of Korea said, "On the import side, volumes increased mainly for semiconductors, computer peripherals, aluminum and copper, while on the export side, semiconductor strength continued and export volumes of chemical products and automobiles increased."

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