producer price-February

producer price-February

Producer prices up for 2nd straight month in Feb.

SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's producer prices rose for the second straight month in February as service prices increased, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, gained 0.1 percent in February from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

It followed a 0.4 percent on-month advance in January.

From a year earlier, the index rose 4.8 percent.

The on-month rise is attributed to a 0.6 percent increase in the prices of restaurant and lodging services. The index excluding food and energy products also rose 0.3 percent.

Producer prices are one of the key indicators that determine the trajectory of inflation, as they influence the prices businesses charge to consumers in the months ahead.

In February, the country's consumer prices rose 4.8 percent on-year, slowing from a 5.2 percent increase tallied for the previous month.

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