FX.co ★ South Korea Import Prices Slide for 4th Month

In May 2025, South Korea experienced a year-on-year drop of 5% in import prices, an increase in decline compared to April's 2.6%. This decline was largely influenced by reduced global oil prices and the appreciation of the Korean won. Specifically, raw material prices plummeted by 14.1%, a faster decline from April's 12% decrease. Intermediate goods also registered a 2.4% drop, following a modest increase in the prior month. Meanwhile, the growth rate in prices for consumer goods decelerated to 2.1% from 4.1%, and for capital goods, it slowed to 2.5% from 5.2%. On a month-to-month basis, import prices declined by 2.3% in May, marking the continuation of a downward trend for the fourth consecutive month, paralleling the global decrease in oil prices.