SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Price for imported goods to South Korea fell in three months due to cheaper crude oil and the local currency's appreciation versus the U.S. dollar, central bank data showed Friday.
The import price index declined 3.5 percent in August from a month earlier after going up 0.6 percent in June and 0.4 percent in July, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, averaged 77.60 U.S. dollars per barrel in August, down compared with 83.83 dollars a month earlier.
The average won/dollar exchange rate retreated to 1,354.15 won per dollar in August from 1,383.38 won in July.
Prices for imported raw materials sank 6.9 percent in August on a monthly basis, turning downward in three months.
Import prices for intermediary goods, including oil products, dwindled 2.3 percent last month owing to lower prices for oil products, chemicals, primary metal products, electrical equipment, computers, electronic and optical devices.
Prices for imported capital and consumer goods were down 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent each in the cited month.
The export price index slipped 2.6 percent in August from a month earlier after mounting 0.8 percent both in June and July. ■