Seoul, March 14 South Korea's import prices fell for the first time in five months in February due mainly to falling global oil prices, central bank data showed on Friday.
The import price index shed 0.8 per cent from a month earlier in February, following a 2.2 per cent on-month increase the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), Yonhap news agency reported.
The index fell for the first time since September, as the average price of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, fell 3.1 per cent from a month earlier to an average of $77.92 per barrel in February, government data showed.
From a year earlier, the index advanced 4.6 per cent in February.
Import prices of raw materials went down 2.3 per cent on-month in February, while those of intermediate goods inched down 0.2 per cent, according to the BOK.
Import prices are a major factor that determines the path of the country's overall rate of inflation.
The stronger Korean won against the US dollar also led to the decline in import prices.
The local currency came to 1,445.56 won per dollar on average in February, compared with the January average of 1,455.79 won.
The export price index lost 0.6 percent from a month earlier in February, also marking the first on-month fall in five months.
Compared with a year earlier, the index surged 6.3 per cent.
Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 2 per cent from a year earlier in February following 2.2 per cent growth in January.
The central bank earlier forecast consumer prices to grow 1.9 per cent annually in 2025.
"In March, global oil prices have fallen further while the local currency weakened. We need to monitor the situation given high uncertainties at home and abroad," BOK official Lee Moon-hee told a press briefing.
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