Korean commodities price index hits record for 10th straight month

Korean commodities price index hits record for 10th straight month    The Korea Importers Association said Monday that an index used to measure the prices of import commodities into South Korea rose to a record high for the 10th month in a row in June.
   The so-called KOIMA Index rose 28.49 points from May’s 425.06 points to 453.55 points, the Korea Herald reported. The index uses import prices as of December 1995 as the base value of 100.
   The prices of raw material have increased 42.6 percent on average so far this year, including a 206 percent hike in coal and 67 percent rise in scrap iron, the association said. Additionally, the price of oil is having an incremental cost impact on the import of commodities, the association added.