South Korea's producer prices remained flat in May after dropping for three straight months. 

According to data from the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Tuesday, the producer price index for all commodities and services came to 101-point-98 for the month, unchanged from the previous month.

The index, a key barometer of future inflation, however, marks a decline of one-point-seven percent from a year earlier. 

The bank said producer prices for agriculture, livestock and fisheries rose two-point-seven percent on-month, on the back of increased consumption that followed the government's provision of emergency relief funds.

The producer price index of industrial goods slipped point-two percent on-month.

The producer prices of coal and petroleum products plunged 45-point-five percent in May from a year earlier due to decreased demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest drop since January 1965 when the bank started compiling the index.