Import prices down in November for first time in 7 months on cheaper oil, raw materials

South Korea's import prices dropped for the first time in seven months in November as prices of oil and other raw materials declined, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The import price index inched down 0.6 percent last month from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the first on-month decline in seven months

The decline is blamed on a fall in international crude oil prices and other raw materials, including mining products.

The central bank said that the average monthly prices of Dubai oil, South Korea's benchmark, stood at $80.30 per barrel in November, down 1.6 percent from a month earlier, though the prices were still 84.9 percent higher than a year earlier.

Prices of mining products and other raw materials also dropped 1.2 percent over the same period.

Compared with a year earlier, however, import prices jumped 35.5 percent, the ninth consecutive increase.

Meanwhile, export prices shrank 1 percent on-month in November due to declines in prices of coal, oil, computer and optical products. This marked the first on-month decline in a year.

Export prices, however, surged 25.5 percent from a year earlier, which marked the 10th straight month of increase, the data showed. (Yonhap)