South Korea Import Prices Rise in April

South Korea’s import prices rose 20.2% year-on-year in April 2026, easing slightly from a 20.4% increase in March. Price gains were led by mining products, which surged 36.5%, driven by higher prices for coal, crude petroleum and natural gas (38%), as well as metallic and non-metallic mineral products (30.7%). Manufactured goods prices rose 15.3%, supported by sharp increases in coal and petroleum products (67%) and basic metal products (26.3%). Meanwhile, prices for agricultural, forestry and marine products increased at a more moderate pace of 4.4%, mainly driven by livestock (13.3%) and forest products (6.2%).

South Korea’s import prices rose sharply by 18.4% year-on-year in March 2026, accelerating from a 1.6% increase in February (previously estimated at 1.2%). This marks the fastest growth since October 2022. On a monthly basis, import prices surged 16.1%, the strongest gain since January 1998, reflecting broad-based cost pressures as the Iran war pushes up oil prices and weakens the won. Price increases were led by a jump in raw materials (40.0% vs. -3.5% in February), including crude and other mining products. Oil-linked products such as naphtha and jet fuel also rose sharply. Intermediate goods also increased (13.2% vs. 4.8%), as did consumer goods (3.3% vs. 2.5%), while capital goods were unchanged (1.5% vs. 1.5%).

South Korea’s import prices rose 1.2% year-on-year in February 2026, reversing a 0.9% fall in January. Price changes varied across key categories, with intermediate goods up (4.2% vs. 3.3% in January), consumer goods rising (2.5% vs. 2.5% in January), and capital goods climbing (1.6% vs. 1.9% in January), while raw material prices continued to fall, declining (3.8% vs. -9.5%). On a monthly basis, import prices rose 1.1% in February, accelerating from a 0.7% gain in the prior month.