South Korea’s import prices rose for the seventh straight month in January despite declines in global oil prices and the won–dollar exchange rate.

According to preliminary data the Bank of Korea released Friday, the import price index reached 143-point-29 in January, up zero-point-four percent from a month earlier.

The figure marked the first time in seven and a half years that the import price index has risen for seven consecutive months, since the January–July period of 2018.

The central bank said import prices rose last month as increases in the prices of mining products and primary metal goods outweighed declines in global oil prices and the won-dollar exchange rate.
 
Meanwhile, the export price index also jumped four percent from the previous month to 145-point-88 in January.