Import prices grow in January on higher crude oil costs

South Korea's import prices rose for the first time in three months in January as the costs of bringing in crude and other raw materials became more expensive, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The import price index gained 4.1 percent in January from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rise followed 1 percent and 2 percent on-month declines in November and December, respectively.

The January uptick came mostly from increased crude oil and raw material prices over the cited period.

The central bank said the average monthly import prices of Dubai crude oil, South Korea's benchmark, stayed at $83.47 per barrel in January, up 14 percent from a month earlier.

Raw material prices also gained 8.2 percent over the same period.

From a year earlier, import prices also surged 30.1 percent amid rising oil prices, the data showed. Dubai crude oil prices in January were 52.3 percent higher than a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the country's export prices gained 1.4 percent on-month in January following 0.9 percent and 1.2 percent falls in November and December, respectively.

The hike came in part from increases in coal and oil product prices, which jumped 12.3 percent. Export prices of farming, forestry and fishery goods also rose 1.6 percent.

Compared with a year earlier, export prices also rose 22.3 percent. (Yonhap)