Producer Prices in June Rise for 8 Consecutive Months Compared to Previous Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunbyeol Kim] Due to the strong prices of oil and raw materials, the producer price index rose for the eighth consecutive month compared to the previous month. Compared to a year ago, the increase rate has been in the 6% range for three consecutive months.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 21st, the producer price index for June was 109.06 (2015=100), 0.4% higher than May's 108.65. This marks an upward trend for eight consecutive months since last November.

Compared to June last year, the increase rate reached 6.4%. Although this reflects the 'base effect' from the COVID-19 impact last year, it has risen above 6% for three consecutive months following April (6.0%) and May (6.6%).

Looking at the month-to-month changes by item, prices of manufactured goods rose by 0.6%. In particular, due to the rise in oil and raw material prices, coal and petroleum products (3.5%) and primary metal products (1.3%) saw significant increases. Livestock products also jumped 3.2% as demand for home-cooked meals increased. However, prices of agricultural products (-2.1%) and marine products (-0.2%) generally declined.

Service prices rose by 0.2%, led by increases in transportation (0.5%) and finance and insurance (0.6%) related prices.

By detailed items, prices of green onions (-60.5%), napa cabbage (-26.3%), and flatfish (-30%) decreased, while diesel (5.5%), naphtha (3.5%), galvanized steel sheets (3.7%), LCDs for laptops (4.9%), LCDs for monitors (6.0%), international air passengers (2.6%), and consignment sales commissions (2.6%) increased.

The producer price index excluding food and energy items was 109.62, up 0.3% from May's 109.27. Compared to a year ago, the increase rate reached 6.3%, the highest in 10 years since June 2011 (6.5%).

The domestic supply price index, which measures price changes including imported goods, also rose 0.8% compared to the previous month. In particular, raw material prices increased by as much as 4.5%.

The total output price index for June, which adds export goods to domestic shipments, also rose 0.7% compared to May.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.