South Korea Producer Prices Growth Slows in July

South Korea’s producer prices rose 7.7% year-over-year in July 2026, easing from an 8.5% increase in June. Manufacturing producer prices climbed 12.2%, led by a 50.7% surge in coal and petroleum products. Prices for computers, electronic and optical equipment rose 24.2%, while chemical products increased 17.5% and basic metal products advanced 16.1%. Meanwhile, prices of agricultural, forestry and marine products rose 0.7%, while service prices increased 4%. In contrast, prices of mining products edged 0.7% lower. On a monthly basis, the Producer Price Index decreased 0.4% after remaining flat in June.

South Korea's producer prices rose 8.6% year-on-year in June 2026, the same pace as in May, which was the strongest increase since July 2022. Manufacturing producer prices climbed 13.2%, led by a 65.8% surge in coal and petroleum products. Prices for computers, electronic and optical equipment rose 24.6%, while chemical products increased 19.2% and basic metal products advanced 16.0%. Meanwhile, prices of agricultural, forestry, and marine products rose 4.8%, supported by a 10.0% increase in livestock prices. Service prices also increased 4.9%, driven by a 35.2% jump in financial and insurance activities, while utility prices rose 1.3%. On a monthly basis, the Producer Price Index was unchanged in June after rising 1.0% in May.

South Korea’s producer prices rose 8.5% year-on-year in May 2026, up from a 7.2% increase in April and marking the strongest increase since July 2022. Manufacturing producer prices climbed 13.3%, led by a 77.5% surge in coal and petroleum products. Prices for computers, electronic and optical equipment rose 20.2%, while chemical products increased 20.6% and basic metal products advanced 14.5%. Service prices also rose 4.9%, driven by a 35.3% jump in financial and insurance activities. Meanwhile, prices for agricultural, forestry, and marine products increased 4.8%, supported by a 10.3% rise in livestock prices. Utility prices edged up 0.2%. On a month-over-month basis, producer prices rose 0.8%, easing from a 2.7% increase in April.