S.Korea's export prices fall to 7-year low in 2014 on cheaper oil

Prices in South Korean export products declined to the lowest in seven years last year as cheaper oil reduced production costs, central bank data showed Tuesday.

In local currency terms, the export price index was 88.11 in 2014, down 6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index 88.11 means that export prices were at an 88.11 percent level compared with the base year of 2010.

The 2014 figure was the lowest since 2007 when it recorded 84. 41. The export prices fell for three straight years after retreating 2.5 percent in 2012 and 4.3 percent in 2013 each.

Cheaper oil dragged down the export prices of petroleum and chemical products, which sank 11.8 percent and 6.7 percent each in 2014 on a yearly basis.

Export price fall raises risks of reduced corporate profits for the export-driven economy, but cheaper energy costs of the South Korean economy, which heavily depends on imports for energy demand, offset the fears.

Import prices tumbled 7.5 percent in 2014 from a year earlier, marking the biggest decline in 15 years.

Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, plunged in the past six years after trading at 107.93 U.S. dollars per barrel in June last year on average. It led the low import prices. Endi