SEOUL, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Price for imported goods to South Korea rose for the eighth straight month owing to higher global price for crude oil, central bank data showed Tuesday.
The import price index gained 1.1 percent in February from a month earlier, continuing to go up since July last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The consecutive growth was affected by expensive crude oil that offset the local currency's appreciation versus the greenback.
Price for Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, averaged 68.40 U.S. dollars per barrel in February, up from 61.97 dollars in the previous month.
The average South Korean won versus U.S. dollar exchange rate slipped to 1,449.32 won per dollar in February from 1,456.51 won in the prior month.
Price for imported raw materials, including mining products, picked up 3.9 percent in February on a monthly basis, faster than an increase of 1.1 percent in the previous month.
Import price for intermediary goods added 0.2 percent last month, with price for coal and oil products jumping 4.8 percent.
Price for imported capital and consumer goods fell 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent each.
The export price index went up 2.1 percent in February from a month ago, keeping an upward trend since last July. ■
