Korea's import prices fall for 14th month in Oct.

South Korea's import prices declined for the 14th straight month in October as oil prices fell and the local currency strengthened against the U.S. dollar, the central bank said Tuesday.

In local currency terms, the country's import prices declined 7.3 percent in October from a year earlier, smaller than an 8.1 percent on-year fall in September, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the 14th straight month of on-year declines in import prices since September last year when such prices dipped 2.2 percent on-year.

Prices of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, fell 3.1 percent in October from a year earlier, compared with a 2.9 percent on-year decline in September. The Korean won appreciated 3.76 percent to the greenback in October compared with a year earlier.

Compared with a month earlier, the import prices fell 2.4 percent in October, compared with a 2.3 percent on-month fall in the previous month.

In local currency terms, South Korea's export prices fell 4.6 percent on-year last month after dropping 4.7 percent in September.

The export prices shed 1.9 percent in October from the previous month, compared with a 2.4 percent on-month fall in September, the BOK noted.

The data came as the BOK is slated to hold its monthly rate-setting session on Thursday. The BOK is widely expected to freeze the key interest rate at 2.5 percent for the sixth straight month, according to analysts. (Yonhap News)