\n SEOUL, South Korea’s producer prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in March, driven in part by soaring prices of agricultural goods and industrial goods, central bank data showed Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, increased 0.2 percent in March from a month earlier, following 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent on-month gains, respectively, in February and January, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).<\/p>\n
On a yearly basis, the index rose 1.6 percent after a 1.5 percent on-year gain the previous month.<\/p>\n
The rise is blamed on a 1.3 percent increase in agricultural products and a 0.6 percent advance in prices of industrial goods.<\/p>\n
Producer prices are one of the key indicators that determine the trajectory of inflation, as they influence the prices that businesses charge to consumers in the months ahead.<\/p>\n
South Korea’s inflation stayed over 3 percent for the second consecutive month in March on record prices of fruit and rising global oil prices.<\/p>\n
Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 3.1 percent on-year last month, following a 3.2 percent increase the previous month, according to the data from Statistics Korea.<\/p>\n
The country’s central bank froze its key rate for the 10th straight session at 3.5 percent early this month amid slower-than-expected inflation moderation.<\/p>\n
The rate freezes came after the BOK delivered seven consecutive rate hikes from April 2022 to January 2023.<\/p>\n
Source: Yonhap News Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL, South Korea’s producer prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in March, driven in part by soaring prices of agricultural goods and industrial goods, central bank data showed Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The producer price index, a major barometer of consum…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n