South Korea's export and import prices both dropped last month.<br />The central bank says falling international oil prices was the main reason for the decrease. <br />Ko Roon-hee reports. <br />Export and import prices are the main indicators of how a country is affected by global trade conditions.<br /><br />And according to the nation's central bank on Tuesday, South Korea's export and import prices both dropped last month... mainly due to lower international oil prices.<br /><br />In December, import prices fell by 3-point-4 percent from the month before, the second monthly decline in a row.<br />As for why, the BOK pointed to international oil prices... which fell by more than 12 percent on month.<br /><br />The price of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, was around 57 U.S. dollars a barrel,... around 8 dollars cheaper than in November. <br />Analysts said there were signs of oversupply in the U.S., but also investor sentiment was low because of the slowing global economy and lower demand for fuel as a result.<br />For instance, in December, the import prices of petroleum and coal products dropped by more than 10 percent on month.<br />Generally, import prices affect domestic producer prices, which in turn influence consumer prices.<br /><br />Export prices also decreased by 2 percent during the same period.<br />In particular, the export prices of petroleum and coal products dropped by more than 12 percent.<br />Prices of chemical products also fell by more than 3 percent... due to lower demand from China.<br />BOK officials say this is partly because of the U.S.-China trade war.<br /><br />The export prices of electrical equipment and electronics, which include semiconductors, dropped by more than 1 percent. <br />Prices of flash memory in particular dropped by almost 7 percent on month and more than 43 percent on year... due to lower demand.<br /><br />For the whole of 2018, however, export prices were the same as the year before and import prices were up more than 6 percent.<br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
