The Bank of Korea has released its data on South Korea's export and import prices for last month.
It showed both indexes are on the rise.
Our business correspondent Kim Hye-sung reports.
South Korea's import prices increased for the seventh consecutive month in July due to the weakening Korean won.
The Bank of Korea says the import price index rose one-point-seven percent on-month, recording 89-point-eight-one in July.
Compared to the same period last year, the index is up more than twelve percent, marking the biggest jump in 18 months.
The local currency weakened against the U.S. dollar, recording an average of one-thousand-1-hundred-22-point-eight won last month, pushing up Korea's import prices despite a slight fall in global oil prices.
In particular, intermediate goods prices increased more than two percent on-month on rising coal and chemical goods prices.
Without the change in the won-dollar exchange rate, the Bank of Korea says July's import prices would've ticked down zero-point-eight percent on-month.
Export prices rose two-point-three percent on-month to 87-point-five-six, continuing their upward streak for a fourth straight month.
The central bank attributes the rising export prices to an increase in industrial goods' prices, including metals and machinery.
Export and import prices affect future consumer prices, so this could mean higher inflation in the months to come.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.
