Korea's import prices grew at their slowest pace in three months in November on falls in commodity prices, the central bank said Tuesday, indicating eased upside pressure on consumer inflation.
In local currency terms, the country's import prices grew 11.8 percent in November from a year ago, slowing from a 16 percent on-year gain in October, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The November growth marked the slowest expansion since a 10 percent on-year gain in August, it added.
Compared with the previous month, import prices fell 1.6 percent last month, a turnaround from a 0.9 percent on-month gain in October, due mainly to the local currency's appreciation.
Lim Su-young, an official at the BOK, said that commodities excluding oils fell last month, making import prices grow at a slower pace than the previous month.
The Korean won fell 0.5 percent to the dollar in November, compared with the same period of last year. The local currency gained 2 percent against the greenback, however, compared with October. A weaker won makes imports more expensive and puts upward pressure on inflation.
Meanwhile, the country's export prices in Korean won grew 5.4 percent in November from a year earlier, easing from 9.2 percent in October, according to the BOK. It marked the slowest expansion since a 1.8 percent on-year gain in August.
Compared with the previous month, export prices shrank 2.3 percent last month, compared with a 1.4 percent on-month gain in October, due to the won's gain.
The data came as the BOK on Friday froze the key interest rate at 3.25 percent for the sixth straight month, citing downside risks from the eurozone debt crisis.
The country's producer prices, a gauge of future consumer inflation, grew at their slowest clip in November, indicating that a build-up in consumer inflation may ease.
The central bank said the country's consumer prices are expected to grow 3.3 percent next year after growing 4 percent this year.
(Yonhap)