South Korea Faces Largest Import Price Surge in Three Decades Amid Oil Price Hike and Currency Depreciation

On April 15, Jin10 reported that South Korea experienced its largest import price increase in nearly thirty years, highlighting severe cost pressures in the economy due to the Iranian war-induced oil price surge and the depreciation of the Korean won. According to Jin10, data released on Wednesday showed that South Korea's import prices rose by 16.1% month-on-month in March, marking the largest monthly increase since January 1998, and increased by 18.4% year-on-year. Export prices also rose by 16.3% month-on-month, underscoring widespread inflationary pressures in trade flows. This increase reflects the significant rise in global crude oil prices and the depreciation of the Korean won. The Bank of Korea stated that in March, the price of Dubai crude oil nearly doubled from the previous month, averaging $128.52 per barrel, while the Korean won depreciated by approximately 2.6% against the U.S. dollar during the same period.