South Korea's export and import prices dropped from a month earlier in March due to plunging oil prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data by the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Tuesday, the export prices index, in terms of local currency, came to 96-point-59 last month, down one-point-one percent from the previous month. From a year earlier, the index fell three-point-three percent.

A BOK official said export prices dropped despite the rise in the won-dollar exchange rate, due to falling prices of coal, petroleum products and chemical products.

The fall is attributed to a sharp drop in global oil prices. The average price of Dubai crude came to 33 U.S. dollars and 71 cents per barrel in March, down 37-point-eight percent from the previous month. The oil price plunge was partially driven by declines in demand after governments across the world took measures to curb the spread of the infectious disease. 

South Korea's import prices also slipped five-point-two percent on-month in March, apparently also due to the plunge in crude oil prices.