SEOUL, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Prices for goods and services among South Korean suppliers rose for a ninth consecutive month due to higher prices for chemical products and finance services, central bank data showed Friday.
The producer price index (PPI) gained 0.8 percent in May from a month earlier, continuing to go up since last September, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Producer prices for industrial products, including oil products, added 0.7 percent last month, slower than an increase of 4.8 percent in the previous month.
Oil products' prices retreated 2.3 percent, but those for chemical and primary metal products advanced 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent each.
Service prices mounted 1.2 percent on higher costs for the finance and insurance services, of which the price jumped 8.3 percent amid soaring stock investment by retail investors.
Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products among suppliers slipped 0.8 percent in May on a monthly basis, keeping a downward trend for a third straight month.
Prices for electricity, natural gas and tap water were up 0.5 percent in May compared to the previous month. ■
