S. Korea's import prices of raw materials rise in May

SEOUL, June 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's import prices of key raw materials rose
in May as climbing crude prices drove up the overall costs of purchasing
commodities, a trade association said Thursday.
The Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) said its price index for imported
commodities stood at 224.03 last month, up 16.82 points from a month earlier.
Using 1995 as the base year, the benchmark index covers 30 key imported raw
materials, including crude oil and soy beans.
The KOIMA index, which surged to 453.55 in June last year due to runaway crude
prices, has been declining, plunging to 198.64 in March this year as a protracted
global slowdown led to a decline in demand for commodities.
The May increase is attributed mostly to rising prices of crude, gold and other
minerals. Produce and raw materials for textile goods also contributed to the
hikes, the association said.
The association said that crude oil traded at US$57.81 per barrel in May, up 15.6
percent from a month earlier. South Korea is the world's fifth-largest oil
importer.
The latest data comes as consumer prices are stabilizing after hitting a 10-year
high of 5.9 percent in July. Prices rose 2.7 percent last month from a year
earlier, slowing from a 3.6 percent on-year advance the previous month.
The Bank of Korea, the nation's central bank, wants the inflation rate below 3.5
percent.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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