South Korea's import prices fell for the second consecutive month in March due mainly to a drop in global oil prices, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The import price index shed 0.4 percent from a month earlier in March, following a 0.8 percent on-month decline the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.
The decline came as the average price of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, fell 7 percent from a month earlier to an average of $72.49 per barrel in March, government data showed.
From a year earlier, however, the index advanced 3.4 percent in March.
Import prices of raw materials went down 3.3 percent on-month in March, while those of intermediate goods rose 0.7 percent, according to the BOK.
Import prices are one of the major factors that determine the path of the country's overall rate of inflation.
The export price index rose 0.3 percent from a month earlier in March. Compared with a year earlier, the index surged 6.3 percent.
Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier in March, accelerating from a 2.0 percent on-year increase in February.
The central bank earlier forecast consumer prices to grow 1.9 percent annually in 2025. (Yonhap)
