Rising Won-Dollar Exchange Rate Leads to Two Consecutive Months of Export and Import Price Increases

Import Prices Up 0.8%... Export Prices Rise 2%

Last month, the export and import price indices rose for the second consecutive month as the won-dollar exchange rate increased.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 13th, the March export price index (based on the Korean won) rose 2.0% compared to the previous month. Although petroleum product prices fell, the rise in the won-dollar exchange rate led to an upward trend following February. The export price index had been declining for three consecutive months since November last year but turned upward in February after four months. Compared to the same month last year, it fell by 6.4%.

The export price based on contract currency, which limits the exchange rate effect, decreased by 0.6% from the previous month. Last month, the average won-dollar exchange rate was 1,305.73 won, up 2.8% from the previous month (1,270.74 won).

Agricultural, forestry, and fishery products fell 2.3% compared to the previous month. Manufactured goods rose 2.0% from the previous month as chemical products, computers, electronics, and optical devices increased despite declines in coal and petroleum products.

The import price index (based on the Korean won) rose 0.8% from the previous month. Although international oil prices fell, the rise in the won-dollar exchange rate led to a continued upward trend for two months. The monthly average price of Dubai crude oil dropped 4.4% from $82.11 per barrel in February to $78.51 last month.

Compared to the same month last year, it fell by 6.9%.

The import price based on contract currency, which limits the exchange rate effect, decreased by 1.8% from the previous month.

Raw materials, centered on mining products, fell 1.1% compared to the previous month, while intermediate goods rose 1.6% as chemical products and primary metal products increased.

Capital goods and consumer goods rose 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively, compared to the previous month.

Seo Jeong-seok, head of the Price Statistics Team at the Bank of Korea’s Economic Statistics Bureau, said about future prospects, "There is high uncertainty in the prices of major raw materials such as oil, and prices of iron ore and nickel are falling sharply," adding, "It is not appropriate to predict and forecast raw material prices with high uncertainty at this early stage of April."