SEOUL, March 24 (AJP) — South Korea’s producer prices rose for a sixth straight month in February, as higher energy and commodity costs lifted input prices across the board, pointing to building import-driven inflation pressure even before the full impact of war-related shocks.
The producer price index (PPI) stood at 121.36 (2020=100) in February, up 0.6 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Tuesday.
On a year-on-year basis, the index rose 2.4 percent, the fastest pace since a 2.6 percent gain in July 2024.
The increase was led by industrial goods, which rose 0.6 percent on-month. Coal and petroleum products surged 4.0 percent, exerting strong upward pressure on the overall index. Prices climbed sharply for diesel (7.4 percent), naphtha (8.7 percent) and gasoline (5.3 percent), reflecting higher global oil benchmarks. Dubai crude, for instance, rose 3.6 percent in February amid heightened Middle East tensions.
Utility costs also picked up. Gas prices for industrial use rose 1.8 percent from a month earlier, pushing up the broader category of electricity, gas and water.
A persistently weak won added to cost pressures, lifting import prices even before disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz following attacks on Iran.
The domestic supply price index, which tracks inflation in the production pipeline, rose 0.5 percent on-month. Raw material prices increased 0.7 percent, reversing a 0.9 percent drop in January, while intermediate input costs rose 0.6 percent, contributing 0.2 percentage points to final goods prices.
Yet the February data likely understate the scale of inflationary pressure ahead.
The won-dollar exchange rate closed February at 1,438.4. By Monday, it had surged 5.5 percent to 1,517.6 won, while global oil prices have jumped roughly 50 percent from late February levels, suggesting the bulk of war-driven cost pressure has yet to feed through into producer prices.
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