Container boxes are loaded at a port in Incheon, Jan. 2. Yonhap
Korea's import prices rose for the third consecutive month in December due mainly to the weak local currency and high global oil prices, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The import price index went up 2.4 percent last month from a month earlier, accelerating from a 0.9 percent on-month increase in November, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marks the steepest on-month gain since April, when the index climbed 4.4 percent.
From a year earlier, the figure advanced 7 percent in December.
Import prices of raw materials climbed 3 percent on-month in December, and those of intermediate goods gained 2.2 percent, according to the BOK.
Import prices are a major factor that determine the path of the country's overall rate of inflation.
The price growth came as the Korean won fell to 1,434.42 won per U.S. dollar in December from the previous month's 1,393.38 won. From a year earlier, the won sank 10 percent.
The average price of Dubai crude, Korea's benchmark, gained 0.9 percent from a month earlier in December to stand at $73.23 per barrel.
The export price index rose 2.4 percent from a month earlier in December on the strong dollar, also marking the third consecutive month of increase.
Compared with a year earlier, the index surged 10.7 percent.
For the entire year of 2024, the import price index went up 2.6 percent from a year earlier, while the index for export prices jumped 6.2 percent, according to the data.
"The won's depreciation and the subsequent import price hikes could lead to high consumer inflation, though there still exist uncertainties regarding factors that may affect prices," BOK official Lee Moon-hee told reporters.
Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 1.9 percent from a year earlier in December, accelerating from a 1.5 percent increase in November.
For all of 2024, consumer prices gained 2.3 percent from a year earlier, marking the slowest on-year growth since 2020, the data showed. (Yonhap)