South Korea Import Prices Rise in May

South Korea’s import prices rose 24.8% year-on-year in May 2026, accelerating from a 20.2% increase in April. Price gains were led by raw materials, which climbed 38.9%, driven by a 42.4% increase in mining product prices. Intermediate goods prices rose 26.8%, reflecting sharp increases in coal and petroleum products (73.1%), basic metal products (32.8%), chemical products (26.1%), and computers, electronic and optical equipment (23.2%). Meanwhile, prices of capital goods increased 4.8%, while consumer goods prices rose 6.3%.

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%).