South Korea's import price growth hit a 7-month low in June on the local currency's appreciation and the recent decline in raw material prices, central bank data showed on Friday.

The country's import prices rose 10.5 percent in June from the same month a year earlier, down from a 13.2 percent year-on-year gain in May, according to the Bank of Korea. It was the slowest growth since it posted an 8.2 percent rise in November 2010, it said.

Import prices fell 0.4 percent from the previous month, continuing the downward trend for two months in a row.

Export prices were 0.4 percent lower in June than a year earlier, compared with a 3.3 percent annual expansion in May, according to the central bank. Export prices recorded the sharpest decline since posting a same 0.4 percent loss in September 2010, it said. The growth of import prices slowed as prices of raw materials such as crude oil declined. The average price of crude oil imported stood at 115.8 U.S. dollars per barrel and reduced to 108 U.S. dollars in May and 107.5 U.S. dollars in June.