South Korea Import Price Growth Eases in July

South Korea’s import prices rose 18.7% year-on-year in July 2026, easing from an upwardly revised 20.9% increase in June. Price gains were led by mining products, which climbed 24.9%, driven by higher costs for coal, crude petroleum and natural gas (23.8%), as well as metallic and non-metallic mineral products (32.3%). Prices for manufactured goods rose 16.7%, with coal and petroleum products up 35.5% and basic metal products increasing 28.0%. Meanwhile, prices for agricultural, forestry and marine products increased 15.2%, with marine foods rising 20.6% and agricultural foods up 18.3%.

South Korea's import prices rose 20.6% year-on-year in June 2026, easing from an upwardly revised 25.4% increase in May. Price gains were led by mining products, which climbed 25.2%, driven by higher costs for coal, crude petroleum and natural gas (23.3%), as well as metallic and non-metallic mineral products (36.8%). Prices for manufactured goods also increased, with coal and petroleum products up 38.9% and basic metal products rising 34.3%. Meanwhile, prices for agricultural, forestry, and marine products increased 15.2%. By end use, intermediate goods recorded the largest increase, rising 25.4%, followed by raw materials (24.1%) and capital goods (7.7%). On a monthly basis, the Import Price Index fell 4.4%.

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%.