The price index for goods and services imported into South Korea soared 16.1 per cent in March from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.
This is the highest increase since January 1998, reflecting the widespread negative effects of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has caused oil prices to spike and the exchange rate to weaken, analysts said.
Import prices rose 18.4 per cent in March from the same month a year earlier, the biggest rise since October 2022.
The cost of imported raw materials, including oil, jumped 40 per cent in both year-on-year and month-on-month comparisons.
Imported consumer goods rose 3.3% y/y and 1.9% m/m, while capital goods rose 1.5% in both cases.
According to the revised data, import prices in February rose by 1.6% y/y and by 1.5% m/m.