Producer Prices Hit Another 'Record High' in August... Rising for 10 Consecutive Months

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunbyeol Kim] The domestic Producer Price Index (PPI) has risen for 10 consecutive months, setting another all-time high. This increase is attributed to the rising demand in upstream industries such as chemical products.

The PPI for August, announced by the Bank of Korea on the 24th, stood at 110.72 (2015=100), up 0.4% from the previous month. This is the highest index level since statistics began in 1965. It marks the second consecutive month of record highs following July.

Compared to the same month last year, the index rose 7.3%, continuing an upward trend for the ninth consecutive month.

The 10-month consecutive rise in the PPI is the longest since the 19-month continuous increase from November 2009 to May 2011. The producer price refers to the wholesale prices of goods and services supplied by producers to the market.

Choi Jin-man, head of the Price Statistics Team at the Economic Statistics Bureau, explained, "This month, the increase was mainly driven by manufactured goods. Among manufactured goods, some items fell due to the decline in international oil prices, but chemical products and primary metal products rose due to increased demand in upstream industries, leading to the month-on-month increase."

By category, manufactured goods rose 0.4% month-on-month. Electricity, gas, water, and waste management also increased by 1.1% month-on-month, influenced by a 4.0% rise in gas, steam, and hot water. Agricultural, forestry, and fishery products rose 0.7% compared to the previous month. Services increased by 0.3%, driven by rises in restaurants and accommodation.

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