Producer prices fall in March on price decline in manufactured goods

SEOUL, April 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's producer prices fell slightly in March from a month earlier due mainly to a decline in the prices of manufactured goods, the central bank said Wednesday.

The producer price index -- a barometer of future consumer inflation -- slid 0.1 percent in March from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The BOK attributed the fall to weaker oil prices and the won's strengthening against the U.S. dollar.

Prices of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, fell 5.9 percent in March from a month earlier. The local currency gained 0.9 percent against the greenback in March from a month earlier.

Year-on-year, the March index gained 4.2 percent.

Prices of manufactured goods fell 0.3 percent in March from a month earlier, while prices of agricultural and fisheries goods remained unchanged from the previous month, data showed.

Utility prices, including electricity and water, gained 1 percent in March from February.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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