South Korea May import prices fall for 33rd mth, pace of decline slows

[SEOUL] South Korea's import prices in May declined for a 33rd straight month but at their slowest pace in five months, central bank data showed on Friday, on smaller declines in prices for intermediate imports such as oil.

Import prices in won terms fell 14.6 per cent in May from a year earlier, data from the Bank of Korea said.

That compared with a 17.1 per cent drop in April and marked the slowest annual pace of falls since December last year.

Intermediate materials prices, which have the heaviest weighting on the index, fell 7.6 per cent on-year in May, compared to a 10.2 per cent drop in April.

All the sub-indices under intermediate materials prices trimmed their fall or accelerated gains, including import prices for coal and oil which fell 31.7 per cent in May, compared to 36.0 per cent in the previous month.

The same data showed export prices, also in local-currency terms, slipped 3.5 per cent in May compared to a year before, posting a smaller decline from a revised 6.0 per cent fall in April.

REUTERS