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Producer prices rise for 3rd consecutive month in November

Published: 19 Dec. 2025, 08:19 Updated: 19 Dec. 2025, 14:32

A shopper looks at the price of apples at a supermarket in Seoul on Oct. 19. [NEWS1]

Korea's producer prices rose for the third consecutive month in November, driven by strong demand for semiconductors and electronic devices and the weak Korean won, central bank data showed Friday.

The producer price index (PPI), a key barometer of future consumer inflation, gained 0.3 percent on-month to 121.32, following a 0.3 percent increase in October and a 0.4 percent rise in September, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

In detail, prices of industrial goods went up 0.8 percent last month from a month earlier, as those for computers and electronic and optical devices surged 2.3 percent, and coal and oil products rose 5 percent over the cited period.

The average price of DRAM surged 15.5 percent, and that of flash memory soared 23.4 percent last month, according to the data.

Service prices increased 0.1 percent, led by a 1.2 percent jump in financial and insurance services.

But prices of agricultural and livestock products fell 2.1 percent month-on-month in November, the data showed.

Producer prices serve as a key indicator of future inflation trends as they affect the prices businesses charge consumers in the months ahead.

The domestic supply price index, which accounts for both producer and import prices, added 0.7 percent month-on-month in November, the data showed.

Yonhap