Seoul, March 21 (IANS) South Korea’s producer prices rose slightly from a month earlier in February on a recent hike in global oil prices, central bank data showed on Friday.
The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, reached 120.33 last month, up from 120.27 a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The figure has been on a constant increase since November, led by high oil prices and the weakening of the local currency, reports Yonhap news agency.
On a yearly basis, the index rose 1.5 percent last month, marking the 19th consecutive month of an on-year increase.
Producer prices are one of the key indicators that determine the trajectory of inflation, as they influence the prices businesses charge consumers in the months ahead.
The price growth came as the average price of Dubai crude, South Korea’s benchmark, gained 9.8 percent from the previous month in January, reaching US$80.41 per barrel. Oil price hikes typically affect producer prices with a time lag, officials said.
“An increase in global oil prices in January affected import prices through February due to customs clearance procedures,” a BOK official said.
The domestic supply price index, which is calculated based on producer prices and import prices, climbed 0.2 percent on-month last month, which marked the fifth monthly rise in a row, the data showed.
Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 2 percent from a year earlier last month following 2.2 percent growth in January.
The central bank earlier forecast consumer prices to grow 1.9 percent annually in 2025.
Meanwhile, South Korean stocks traded marginally higher on Friday, as big-cap semiconductor shares gathered ground while some investors moved to lock in profits from recent gains.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had gained 3.71 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,640.81 as of 11:20 a.m.
The index opened lower, tracking overnight Wall Street losses, and had moved within a tight range as solid foreign buying offset stock selling of retail and institutional investors. Top-cap shares traded mixed.
—IANS
na/
