Producer prices rose 0 . 1 pct last December SEOUL , Jan . 22 ( Yonhap ) -- South Korea ' s producer prices rose last December , marking the first monthly gain in two months , due to an increase in prices of farm goods , the Bank of Korea ( BOK ) said Monday . The producer price index -- a barometer of future consumer inflation -- stood at 103 . 14 last December , up 0 . 1 percent from a month earlier , according to preliminary data from the central bank . In spite of declines in major commodity prices and the Korean currency ' s strength against the U . S . dollar , producer prices rose last December because of a 1 percent increase in prices of agricultural , dairy and fishery goods , the BOK said in a statement . Prices of industrial goods , including oil products , were unchanged last December after climbing 0 . 1 percent the previous month , the data showed . Year - on - year , the producer price index gained 2 . 3 percent last December , marking the 14 th consecutive month of gains . For all of 2017 , producer prices rose 3 . 5 percent on year , according to the data . ( END )