Korea's export prices drop in November: BOK

국제유가 추락 후폭풍... 수출물가 30년 전 수준 회귀 Plunging oil prices are taking a toll on Korea's import AND export prices. Data released by the nation's central bank shows... the export-reliant economy's export prices dipped to the lowest levels in decades... primarily due to super low global oil prices. Our Kim Ji-yeon has this report. Korea's export prices fell to its lowest level in nearly 30 years largely due to the aftermath of falling international oil prices. This means the price of commodities sold by local exporters are at the same level as they were sold some 30 years ago. Data from the Bank of Korea show the Export Price Index, an indicator of export prices, plunged 15-point-6-percent last month from the same period last year... the lowest since it was recorded in September 1989. In particular, raw materials fell nearly 5-percent from the previous month, prompting a drop in prices of home appliances, coal and petroleum products. The Bank of Korea attributed the decline in export prices to the plunge in price of Dubai crude oil, which accounts for some 80-percent of Korea's total oil imports. The central bank says the average price of Dubai crude fell 46-percent in November from the same period last year to around 42 U.S. dollars per barrel. A researcher from the Korea Economic Research Institute, Choi Nam-suk, says it's still premature to say for sure whether the drop in export prices will benefit or harm the local economy... but, in theory, he says falling export prices is generally not welcome news for Korea... a country which relies heavily on exports for growth... since exporters would see their profits shrink. Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Facebook Page   / newsarirang