Container bins are loaded at a port in Incheon, Jan. 2. Yonhap
Korea’s import costs rose for the third consecutive month in December due primarily to the weak native forex and excessive international oil costs, central financial institution knowledge confirmed Wednesday.
The import worth index went up 2.4 % final month from a month earlier, accelerating from a 0.9 % on-month improve in November, in keeping with the preliminary knowledge from the Financial institution of Korea (BOK).
It marks the steepest on-month achieve since April, when the index climbed 4.4 %.
From a 12 months earlier, the determine superior 7 % in December.
Import costs of uncooked supplies climbed 3 % on-month in December, and people of intermediate items gained 2.2 %, in keeping with the BOK.
Import costs are a significant component that decide the trail of the nation’s total price of inflation.
The worth development got here because the Korean received fell to 1,434.42 received per U.S. greenback in December from the earlier month’s 1,393.38 received. From a 12 months earlier, the received sank 10 %.
The common worth of Dubai crude, Korea’s benchmark, gained 0.9 % from a month earlier in December to face at $73.23 per barrel.
The export worth index rose 2.4 % from a month earlier in December on the robust greenback, additionally marking the third consecutive month of improve.
In contrast with a 12 months earlier, the index surged 10.7 %.
For your entire 12 months of 2024, the import worth index went up 2.6 % from a 12 months earlier, whereas the index for export costs jumped 6.2 %, in keeping with the info.
„The received’s depreciation and the next import worth hikes might result in excessive shopper inflation, although there nonetheless exist uncertainties relating to components which will have an effect on costs,“ BOK official Lee Moon-hee instructed reporters.
Shopper costs, a key gauge of inflation, rose 1.9 % from a 12 months earlier in December, accelerating from a 1.5 % improve in November.
For all of 2024, shopper costs gained 2.3 % from a 12 months earlier, marking the slowest on-year development since 2020, the info confirmed. (Yonhap)
