S.Korea's producer prices rise 6.8% in April

South Korea's producer prices rose 6.8 percent in April from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday.


The producer price index (PPI), a barometer of future consumer inflation, increased 6.8 percent on-year last month after recording a 28-month high of 7.3 percent in March, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a monthly report.


Producer prices slowed down in April mainly due to sharp falls in fresh vegetables, but breached a 6 percent mark for the fourth consecutive month. The PPI growth rate recorded 6.2 percent in January and 6.6 percent in February respectively.


From the previous month, producer prices rose 0.3 percent in April compared with a 1.2 percent jump the previous month, according to the report.


Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products dropped 6.6 percent on-month in April, with fresh vegetables and livestock products plunging 23.4 percent and 5.4 percent each. Good crop conditions caused by warmer weather contributed to falling vegetable prices, the BOK said.


Manufactured goods, however, continued their upward trend as higher oil prices drove up the prices of oil and chemical products, according to the BOK. Prices of industrial goods rose 0.8 percent on-month in April, with oil and chemical goods increasing 3.1 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.


The data came two days ahead of the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s monetary policy meeting for May. The BOK is widely expected to raise its key rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent in a bid to curb inflationary pressures.


South Korea's consumer prices grew 4.2 percent in April from a year earlier, surpassing the upper ceiling of the BOK's inflation target band between 2 and 4 percent for the fourth consecutive month. But, the April reading was lower than a 4.7 percent on-year jump in March.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)