Hike in oil price raises export, import prices in June

By Nam Hyun-woo

Both export and import prices rose for two straight months, central bank data showed Wednesday, which is attributed to a steady rise in global oil prices that affected the overall prices of petroleum products.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), the won-basis export price index for June stood at 80.84, up 0.2 percent from the previous month.

During the same period, the import price index also increased to 77.97, up 0.7 percent from May. In June, the Korean won was traded at 1,170 won, up 0.1 percent from the previous month.

A rise in the export price index brings positive effects on the profitability of domestic firms, while an increased import price index leads hikes in domestic prices.

The hikes were led by a gradual upward movement in global oil prices, the BOK said. Dubai’s crude oil price in June stood at $46.3, up 4.6 percent from $44.26 in May.

The export index in June reached the highest since March this year when the index stood at 80.97.

The BOK data attributed the hike to a 5.1 percent rise in petroleum product prices, which led the prices of overall manufacturing products to inch up 0.2 percent from a month earlier. Agricultural, forestry and marine product prices also climbed 0.2 percent during the same period.

Import prices were also affected by the global oil price hike. The price indexes showed that raw material prices rose by 2 percent and intermediate good prices were up by 0.4 percent from the previous month.

Boosted by the rises, the overall import price index in June was tallied to be the highest since last October, when it came to 78.34.

However, compared to the same period a year earlier, both export and import prices slipped 4.9 percent in June.