South Korea March producer inflation eases to weakest in 25 months
FILE PHOTO: Women wearing masks walk in a shopping district amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Seoul, South Korea, November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Heo Ran
SEOUL (Reuters) — South Korea’s producer inflation slowed in March to the weakest level in 25 months, central bank data showed on Friday, led by agricultural and petroleum products.
The producer price index stood 3.3% higher in March than a year before, compared with 4.8% in February, according to the Bank of Korea. It was the slowest annual rise since February 2021.
The index rose 0.1% on a monthly basis, marking the third straight monthly rise, but that was slower than gains of 0.2% and 0.4% in February and January.
Prices of agricultural products fell 4.6% from the previous month, while coal and petroleum products were down 1.3%, contributing to the slowdown in inflation.
