South Korea's export prices fell for the third straight month in October as oil costs declined and the local currency gained against the US dollar, central bank data showed Thursday.

The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, dropped 2.6 percent in October from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The reading marked the third consecutive month of on-month decline after the index rose for a third month in a row in July.

From a year earlier, the index sank 6.4 percent, marking the 17th straight month of on-year decline.

Prices of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, declined 2 percent in October from the previous month.

The Korean currency rose 2.9 percent against the dollar on-month in October.

South Korea's import prices declined for the fourth straight month last month, due mainly to falling oil prices, the BOK said.

The country's won-based import prices index decreased 2.6 percent last month from a month earlier, the BOK said. (Yonhap)