The country's export and import prices fell by the largest pace in years in December due to the appreciation of the won and a drop in oil prices.

According to the Bank of Korea on Friday, the export price index stood at 118-point-03 in December, down six percent from a month earlier to log the second consecutive month of downward movement and the largest on-month drop since April 2009, when it slipped six-point-one percent.
 
The fall was attributed to the won's appreciation against the U.S. dollar, a drop in global oil prices and sluggish global demand.

The import price index dropped six-point-two percent on-month in December, also falling for the second straight month to mark the largest fall in about eight years since January 2015.

The drop was mainly attributed to a fall in oil prices, with the average price of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, slipping ten-point-five percent on-month in December.