S Korea's import prices jump 16.9% in Feb

SEOUL, March 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's import prices jumped 16.9 percent on-year in February mainly due to higher oil prices, the central bank said Tuesday.

In local currency terms, the country's import prices soared 16. 9 percent in February from a year earlier, the fastest pace since February 2009 when it recorded an 18 percent on-year expansion, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said.

The nation's import prices rose for the 11th consecutive month in February, accelerating from a 12.7 percent on-year gain in December, according to the BOK. Compared with the previous month, import prices gained 3.1 percent last month.

The February import price growth was attributable to rising oil prices, caused by the political unrest in the Middle East. Prices for raw materials climbed 5.7 percent last month from the previous month, according to the BOK.

The intermediate goods prices gained 1.8 percent on-month in February, while prices for capital and consumer goods fell 0.1 percent each on a on-month basis.

In U.S. dollar terms, meanwhile, the country's import prices soared 20.5 percent last month from a year earlier, higher than 16. 9 percent gain in the local currency-based prices, indicating that the South Korean won rose against the dollar.

March 15^th, 2011

Source: English.news.cn