SEOUL: Prices of imported products in South Korea posted the biggest yearly decline in history last year due to lower crude oil prices, central bank data showed on Wednesday.
The import price index came in at 80.36 in 2015, down 15.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the biggest yearly decline since the BOK began compiling data in 1971.
The large decline was attributable to a sharp fall in global oil prices, which resulted in lower prices in oil products. The export price index stood at 83.52 in 2015, down 5.2 percent from the previous year. Both import and export prices kept a downward trend for four months in a row.
In December alone, the import prices fell 1 percent compared with the prior month. Dubai crude, South Korea’s benchmark, averaged 34.92 U.S. dollars a barrel in December, down from 41.61 dollars in November. Imported commodity prices shed 7.2 percent in December from a month ago, but those for capital and consumer goods rose 2 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.
