Korea’s import prices rise for second consecutive month due to strong dollar

Consumers shop for groceries at a supermarket in Seoul, Nov.7. Yonhap

Korea’s import prices rose for the second consecutive month in November due mainly to the weak local currency, central bank data showed Friday.

The import price index rose 1.1 percent last month from a month earlier, following a 2.1 percent on-month increase in October, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

From a year earlier, the figure advanced 3.0 percent in November, the first on-year increase since August.

Import prices are a major factor that determines the path of the country’s overall rate of inflation.

The price growth came as the Korean won fell to 1,393.38 won per U.S. dollar in November from the previous month’s 1,361.0 won. Compared with a year earlier, the won dipped 6.3 percent.

Import prices of raw materials inched up 0.2 percent on-month in November, and those of intermediate goods climbed 1.5 percent, the data showed.

The export price index also rose 1.6 percent from a month earlier, the second consecutive month of increase, on the strong dollar.

Compared with a year earlier, the index soared 7 percent.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent from a year earlier in November, accelerating from a 1.3 percent increase in October, government data showed. (Yonhap)