Producer prices up for 8th month in June

South Korea's producer prices gained 0.4 percent on-month in June due to a modest rise in prices of industrial goods, extending their monthly gains for the eighth straight month, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 109.06 in June, compared with 108.65 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The May index advanced 6.4 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed.

The prices of agricultural goods fell 2.1 percent on-month in June, and the prices of livestock goods rose 3.2 percent from the previous month, the BOK said.

The prices of coal and petroleum products reported a 3.5 percent on-month gain last month.

Consumer prices grew more than 2 percent for the third straight month in June on higher prices of farm and oil products, underscoring expectations that a rate hike within this year may become more plausible amid an economic recovery.

The consumer price index rose 2.4 percent on-year in June, slowing from a 2.6 percent on-year gain the previous month, the fastest rise in more than nine years, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The inflation gain is due largely to last year's low base and the tight supply of farm and livestock products, the statistics agency said.

Consumer inflation is increasingly under upward pressure as the Korean economy is on a recovery track, led by robust exports and a low base effect.

Policymakers said consumer prices are expected to temporarily pick up in the second quarter, led by rising prices of farm and oil products. (Yonhap)