S. Korea's producer price growth stays flat in June

SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's producer prices rose for the 19th straight month in June, but their growth pace stayed unchanged from the previous month amid a fall in global oil costs, the central bank said Friday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, rose 6.2 percent in June from a year earlier, remaining flat from the 6.2 percent increase in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with May, the index fell 0.3 percent in June, marking a second consecutive monthly decline. The June decline is the biggest on-month fall since the 0.3 percent drop in June 2010. The central bank said a decline in vegetable and global oil costs helped stem a further rise in producer prices. Prices of agricultural and fishery products grew 9.4 percent in June from a year earlier, up from a 3.7 percent on-year expansion in May. Prices of industrial goods rose 7.7 percent on-year last month, slowing from an 8 percent gain in May. The decline came as retreating oil prices drove down oil and chemical product prices. South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude buyer, relies entirely on imports for its oil needs. The data came as the BOK plans to hold a monthly rate-setting session next week. The BOK has raised the key interest rate five times by a combined 1.25 percentage points since it was at 2 percent in July last year.