BOK says producer prices up 0.1% in July

South Korea's producer prices rose slightly in July from a month earlier due to an increase in the prices of services and agricultural products, central bank data showed Monday.

The producer price index -- a barometer of future consumer inflation -- reached 101.84 in July, up 0.1 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

The BOK attributed the slight hike to a rise in the prices of services and agricultural products as well as a slowed decline in the prices of manufactured goods.

Year-on-year, the producer price index jumped 3 percent in July, marking the ninth consecutive month of gains.

Prices of coal and petroleum products rose 1.6 percent in July from a 4.1 percent decline a month earlier.

The price of Dubai crude -- South Korea's benchmark -- stood at an average of $47.57 in July, up from $46.47 in June, according to the BOK.

The index that covers agricultural goods, such as vegetables, rose 1.5 percent in July from a month earlier and service prices increased 0.2 percent in the same time frame.

Meanwhile, prices of manufactured goods fell 0.1 percent in July from an 0.7 percent decline in June, data showed. (Yonhap)