S. Korea's producer prices fall for 9th straight month in June

South Korea's producer prices declined for the ninth consecutive month in June, largely due to a drop in prices of agricultural and fishery products, the central bank said Wednesday.

The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, edged down 1.4 percent in June from a year earlier, after dipping 2.6 percent on-year in May, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

On a yearly basis, the producer prices fell for the ninth straight month last month. In April, the index fell at the fastest pace in 42 months.

Last month, prices of fruit declined 43.2 percent from the previous year, compared with a 41.7 percent on-year fall in May. The corresponding figure for marine products also dipped 5 percent from a year ago.

The data came as the BOK froze the key interest rate at 2.5 percent in June in a bid to assess the impacts of its surprise rate cut in May on the local economy. The BOK again held the benchmark rate steady in its July rate-setting meeting.

Korea's consumer price growth stayed in the 1-percent range for the eighth straight month in June, running below the BOK's 2.5-3.5 percent inflation target band for 2013-2015. (Yonhap News)