South Korea July import prices fall at slowest pace in 7 months

[SEOUL] South Korea's import prices fell at their slowest pace in seven months in July on annual terms as pressure on the dollar offset a renewed decline in global oil prices, central bank data showed on Tuesday.

Import prices in won terms fell 13.7 per cent in July from a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said, slightly slower than June's revised 14.1 per cent decline. July's fall was the slowest since December last year.

A Bank of Korea official said import prices fell for a 35th month as oil prices dropped 47.6 per cent on-year last month. The won's weakness managed to slow that fall, which was down around 12 per cent against the dollar in July from a year earlier.

Raw materials led the fall among the sub-indices, slumping 33.4 per cent in July from a year ago.

On monthly terms, import prices edged down 0.1 per cent in July, compared to a 0.6 per cent rise.

The same data showed export prices, also in won terms, fell 1.7 per cent in July on-year, compared to a revised 2.2 per cent decline in June.

REUTERS