Producer prices rose for the second straight month in February on the back of increased service prices.
The Bank of Korea(BOK) on Tuesday reported that the producer price index for all commodities and services stood at 120-point-42 last month, up one-tenth of a percent from a month earlier to rise for two straight months after falling for two months in a row.
The index, a key barometer of future inflation, rose four-point-eight percent from a year earlier, with the pace of on-year increases slowing for the eighth consecutive month.
Service prices rose zero-point-three percent on-month, with the prices in the foodservice and lodging industries increasing zero-point-six percent.
Prices of industrial products gained zero-point-one percent on-month, while the prices of utilities including electricity, gas and water dropped zero-point-three percent in February from a month earlier.
A BOK official said that despite a drop in energy-related producer prices, overall producer prices rose zero-point-one percent in February due to a rise in service prices.