S. Korea's 2009 import prices fall at fastest pace in 7 years

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's import prices fell at the steepest clip
in seven years in 2009 due mainly to pullbacks in oil prices and slumping demand,
the central bank said Thursday.
In local currency terms, import prices declined 4.1 percent for the whole year of
2009, compared with the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The
2009 figure marked the sharpest fall since 2002 when prices shed 6.2 percent.
In December, prices rose 0.5 percent from the previous month, compared with a 1.9
percent gain in November as the local currency fell against the dollar and raw
material prices gained.
"In December, import prices inched up as the won weakened and raw material prices
excluding oil costs rose," said Lim Su-young, an official at the BOK. "But for
the entire year of 2009, the country's import prices declined as oil prices fell
sharply on-year."
Raw material prices tumbled 16.9 percent on-year in 2009 mainly because oil
prices declined amid slumping demand, the BOK said.
Amid signs of a global economic recovery and the dollar's weakness, oil costs
have recently been on the rise, hovering around US$80 per barrel. South Korea,
the world's fifth-largest crude oil buyer, relies entirely on imports for its oil
needs.
The Korean currency rose an average of 18 percent against the U.S. dollar in
December from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the won fell 0.19 percent on-month last
month.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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