This photo taken on Monday, shows a major discount chain store in Seoul. (Yonhap)
This photo taken on Monday, shows a major discount chain store in Seoul. (Yonhap)

South Korea's producer prices increased in June for the first time in three months, driven by rising prices of agricultural and livestock products, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, added 0.1 percent in June from the previous month to 119.77, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

It marked the first on-month growth since March as the index fell 0.2 percent in April and 0.4 percent in May.

On a yearly basis, producer prices increased 0.5 percent in June, marking the 23rd consecutive month of on-year increase, the data showed.

June's increase came as prices of agricultural and livestock products rose 0.6 percent from the previous month due partly to what the BOK called a steeper rise in demand than supply of farm products, including pork and eggs.

Prices of petroleum products and services climbed 1.2 percent and 0.3 percent on-month, respectively.

But prices of electricity, gas and other utilities edged down 0.1 percent, the BOK said.

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

"Supplies of eggs, pork and other food items fell short of demand. Poor harvest conditions in the late spring season also reduced the output of cabbage and other farm produce, pushing up prices," BOK official Lee Moon-hee told a press briefing.

"Uncertainty over prices of agricultural and fishery products have increased due to recent heat waves and heavy rains," he added.

Meanwhile, the domestic supply price index, which accounts for both producer prices and import prices, dipped 0.6 percent on-month in June, according to the data.

In June, consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.2 percent from a year earlier, marking the steepest on-year increase since January. (Yonhap)