Producer prices up for 6th straight month in April

By a2016032

Published : May 22, 2017 - 09:01 Updated : May 22, 2017 - 09:01

South Korea's producer prices rose for a sixth straight month in April on rising oil and raw material prices, central bank data showed Monday.

The producer price index -- a barometer of future consumer inflation -- reached 102.58 in April, up 4.0 percent from a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

The Bank of Korea (Yonhap)

The BOK attributed the hike to an increase in oil and raw material prices.

The price of Dubai crude -- South Korea's benchmark -- stood at an average of $52.30 in April, up from $38.99 a year earlier, the BOK said.

Prices of coal and petroleum products jumped 25.9 percent year-over-year in April, down from the previous month's 27.8 percent.

The index that covers agricultural goods such as vegetables rose 4.9 percent year-over-year last month, while utility prices remained unchanged from the previous year, data showed. (Yonhap)