South Korea's central bank has released its preliminary data on the nation's export and import prices for March. <br />The figures show import prices were up, while export prices were down.<br />Kim Hyesung reports. <br />Export prices are down, import prices up for March compared to the previous month. <br /> According to the Bank of Korea on Friday, export prices dropped zero-point nine percent on-month to 84-point-27 on the export price index on the back of a stronger Korean won. <br /> The local currency gained zero-point-seven percent on-month against the greenback in March, averaging 1-thousand-71-point-89 won to the U.S. dollar over the one-month period. <br />Export prices of electronic goods fell one-point-four percent on-month in March, and chemical goods export prices dropped by nearly one percent.<br /> But import prices rose for three consecutive months, up zero-point-five percent on-month to record 83-point-94,...despite the won's appreciation and steady oil prices. <br /> The price of Dubai crude was 62-point-74 U.S. dollars a barrel in March, similar to February's 62-point-72 dollars a barrel. <br /> The central bank attributed the rise in import prices to soaring electrode prices, which went up near five-fold on increasing demand from China. <br /> The BOK said import prices of raw materials, capital goods and consumer goods all fell, and that excluding electrode prices would result in a drop in import prices.<br />Kim Hyesung, Arirang News. <br />
