S. Korea's producer prices dip for 4th month in Aug.

SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's producer prices fell for the fourth
straight month in August due to on-year retreats in oil prices and stagnant
demand, the central bank said Wednesday.

The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, declined 3
percent in August from a year earlier, easing from a 3.8 percent on-year fall the
previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). In July, the country's
producer prices fell at the sharpest pace in more than 10 years.
Compared with the previous month, the country's producer prices rose 0.5 percent
last month, down from a 1.2 percent gain in June, mainly because prices of
agricultural and fishery products fell due to seasonal factors.
Korea's producer prices jumped 12.5 percent in July last year, the fastest growth
in 10 years, with oil prices peaking at US$147 per barrel. South Korea, the
world's fifth-largest crude buyer, relies entirely on imports for its oil needs.
The data came one day before the central bank holds a monthly rate-setting
meeting. The BOK is widely expected to freeze its key interest rate at a record
low of 2 percent for the seventh straight month amid no clear sign of a sustained
economic rebound and tame inflation.
It cut the rate by a total of 3.25 percentage points between October and February
in an effort to bolster the slowing economy.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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