South Korea's central bank has released its latest report on the nation's exports and imports prices.... and it shows they've both gone up.
Our economics correspondent Kim Ji-yeon reports.
Korea's export and import prices both rose in October on rising international oil prices and intermediary goods.
Data released by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday showed export prices in October increased by one-point-three-percent from the same period last year.
Export prices of coal and petroleum goods climbed while prices of electronics, including semiconductors dropped.
In particular, the price of DRAMs decreased by nearly 5-percent on-month... mainly due to an oversupply.
The Korean currency rose by nearly one-percent from the previous month to trade at around 1-thousand -131 won on average against the greenback last month.
Over at the import index, prices rose by 10-point-seven percent on-year last month.
In particular, raw materials rose by more than 27-percent from the same period last year.
Prices of Dubai crude, Korea's benchmark, soared two-point-eight-percent from the previous month to an average of around 79 U.S. dollars a barrel in October.
A BOK official said the central bank is keeping a close eye on international oil prices... adding that despite a decrease this month... the price level is still high especially compared to that of last year which hovered around the 60 dollar mark.
Rising import prices generally affect domestic producer prices, which in turn impact consumer prices, and this translates into higher inflation in the months to come.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.