Stronger Won Drives Fifth Straight Drop in South Korea Import Prices

South Korea’s import prices fell 0.6% in June from the prior month and 6.2% from a year earlier, marking a fifth consecutive monthly decline, preliminary Bank of Korea data show. The drop follows a 3.7% fall in May and comes despite higher global oil prices, underscoring the disinflationary impact of cheaper foreign inputs on the economy. The central bank attributed the weaker trade-cost readings largely to a stronger won, which averaged 1,366.95 per U.S. dollar in June compared with 1,394.49 in May. Import prices are closely watched because they feed through to production costs and consumer inflation. Export prices also softened, sliding 1.1% on the month and 4.5% on the year, extending a three-month run of declines. Separately, official figures put the nation’s unemployment rate at 2.6% in June, edging below market expectations of 2.7% and the previous month’s 2.7% reading.