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Producer prices rise for 5th consecutive month on high chip costs: BOK

Published: 24 Feb. 2026, 09:03 Updated: 24 Feb. 2026, 19:14

Attendees look around booths at Semicon Korea, an annual semiconductor exhibition, at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 11. [YONHAP]

Korea's producer prices rose for a fifth consecutive month in January, driven by a marked increase in semiconductor prices and higher agricultural costs, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The producer price index (PPI), a key gauge of future consumer inflation, climbed 0.6 percent from a month earlier to 122.50 in January, accelerating from a 0.4 percent rise in December, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The index has increased steadily since September, rising 0.4 percent that month and 0.3 percent both in October and November.

From a year earlier, producer prices went up 1.9 percent in January.

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

Prices of agricultural and livestock products rose 0.7 percent on-month, while those of industrial goods also gained 0.6 percent.

Service prices rose 0.7 percent, led by a 4.7 percent increase in financial and insurance services.

The domestic supply price index, which reflects both producer and import prices, gained 0.3 percent on-month in January.

"The producer price index has continued to rise and could exert upward pressure on consumer prices going forward. But the increase has been largely driven by higher prices of intermediate goods, such as primary metal products and semiconductors, and there would be a time lag before it is passed on to consumer prices," BOK official Lee Moon-hee told a press briefing.

Chip prices surged 13.6 percent on-month, the BOK data showed.

In 2025, producer prices rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier, slowing from a 1.7 percent increase in 2024.

Yonhap