South Korea’s producer price inflation slows to near 2-year low

SEOUL  – South Korea’s producer price inflation slowed for a seventh straight month to its lowest in 22 months, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The producer price index rose 5.1 percent in January from a year earlier, while it had climbed 5.8 percent in December, according to the Bank of Korea. It was the slowest annual rise since March 2021.

The annual rate continued its slowing trend for a seventh straight month, after hitting a near 14-year high of 10 percent in June 2022.

The index rose 0.4 percent over a month, however, after two straight months of declines, driven mostly by higher utility costs.