South Korea's import prices fell for a third straight month in January despite oil price hikes, largely due to the local currency's rise against the US dollar, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The import price index stood at 134.95 in January, down 2.3 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

The index dropped 5.5 percent in November and 6.5 percent in December.

Compared with a year earlier, the January index rose 1.7 percent, growing at a slower pace than in the previous month that posted an 8.7 percent rise.

The fall largely stemmed from a stronger won against the US greenback, the BOK said.

The won closed at 1,231.90 against the dollar on Jan. 31, down 2.65 percent from 1,264.5 won of Dec. 29, the final session of 2022.

In January, prices fell 1.6 percent on-month for mineral products, including petroleum, and 2.5 percent in chemical products. Those of agricultural and fishing products fell 3.5 percent, computers, electronics and optical devices dropped 4.6 percent, and electrical equipment decreased by 3.2 percent.

During the same month, prices of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, were at US$80.42 per barrel on average, up 4.1 percent from the previous month.

Import prices are being closely watched, as they could have an impact on the country's overall inflation, which has stayed high and caused the central bank to maintain a hawkish monetary policy.

South Korea's consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, have been showing signs of slowing after hitting a peak in July when they soared 6.3 percent on a year-over-year basis, the highest in about 24 years. The prices rose 5.2 percent in January.

From August 2021 to January 2023, the BOK has hiked its benchmark interest rate by a combined 3 percentage points to 3.5 percent in order to tame inflation. (Yonhap)