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In dollar terms, import prices grew 18.7 percent in January, with export prices gaining 3.5 percent, the BOK said.

The local currency fell 0.8 percent against the greenback in January from a month earlier. The price of Dubai crude, Korea’s benchmark, jumped 69 percent in January compared to a year earlier. South Korea is the world’s fourth-largest crude buyer.Raw material costs surged 48.7 percent year-on-year mainly due to higher oil prices while the prices of intermediate goods rose 10.6 percent in January, the BOK said.