Korea’s import prices fell

South Korea’s import prices declined at the fastest clip in sixmonths in April as the local currency strengthened against the U.S. dollar, thecentral bank said Wednesday.In local currency terms, the country’s import prices fell 7 percent last month from ayear ago, marking the steepest on-year decline since October last year when theyslumped 7.3 percent, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The April data also marked the 20th straight month of on-year declines in importprices since September 2012 when they dipped 2.2 percent from the previous year.The Korean won appreciated 6.9 percent on average in April compared with a yearearlier.On a monthly basis, import prices slumped 2.5 percent in April from a month earlier,accelerating from a 0.5 percent on-month fall in March.Export prices, meanwhile, fell 2.5 percent in April from the previous month.