The figures underscore that supply-driven inflation is no longer just an oil story. The spring energy shock has cooled on a monthly basis, but price pressures are continuing to spread broadly across the industrial front.
According to the Bank of Korea, the producer price index rose 0.8 percent from a month earlier and 8.5 percent from a year earlier in May.
The annual gain accelerated from 7.2 percent in April and marked the fastest increase since July 2022, when producer prices rose 9.2 percent.
The annual rate has climbed steadily from 2.5 percent in February to 4.1 percent in March, 7.2 percent in April and 8.5 percent in May. Compared with February, just before the Middle East war began feeding through supply chains, the increase has more than tripled.
Currency conditions added to the pressure. The dollar-won exchange rate averaged 1,491.39 won in May, up from 1,486.72 won in April.
Producer prices rose 0.8 percent from the previous month in May. The monthly gain slowed sharply from a revised 2.7 percent in April as oil prices eased.
The index has nevertheless risen for nine consecutive months, the longest stretch since a 13-month run from November 2020 to November 2021.
Manufactured goods rose 0.7 percent from April. Chemical products climbed 1.8 percent, primary metal products rose 1.4 percent and computer, electronic and optical products gained 1.6 percent.
Coal and petroleum products fell 2.3 percent from the previous month as lower crude oil prices began filtering into import costs. They were still 77.5 percent higher than a year earlier.
DRAM prices rose 9.5 percent from April and 445.4 percent from a year earlier.
Computer memory prices climbed 15.2 percent on the month and 223.2 percent on the year. The gains helped push up manufactured goods and export-linked prices even as the oil-driven monthly shock lost momentum.
Chemical products rose 20.6 percent from a year earlier. Sulfuric acid jumped 58.7 percent from April and 215.9 percent from a year earlier.
Services rose 1.2 percent from April, led by an 8.3 percent increase amid frenzied stock investment.
The BOK attributed the rise mainly to higher brokerage commission fees as the benchmark stock market extended its record rally. Brokerage commission fees jumped 22.2 percent on the month and 154.5 percent from a year earlier.
Transportation services gained 1.8 percent, driven by higher prices for international passenger flights and air cargo after fuel surcharges increased.
Electricity, gas, water and waste services rose 0.5 percent, with industrial city gas prices up 10.3 percent due to higher raw material costs.
Agricultural, forestry and fishery products fell 0.8 percent, helping limit the overall monthly increase. Farm products dropped 3.9 percent, led by a 38.6 percent fall in melon prices due to favorable crop conditions.
Food prices fell 0.2 percent and fresh food prices dropped 3.2 percent. But the producer price index excluding food and energy rose 0.9 percent from April and 8.5 percent from a year earlier.
The domestic supply price index, which tracks goods and services supplied in Korea, including imports, was unchanged from the previous month.
Raw material prices fell 8.1 percent, mainly because imported raw material prices dropped 9.7 percent. The BOK said customs-cleared crude oil prices reflected a 17.8 percent fall in Dubai crude in April with a lag of about one month.
That marked the clearest shift from April, when coal and petroleum products surged and imported raw materials pushed domestic supply prices sharply higher. In May, lower raw material costs offset increases in intermediate and final goods.
Intermediate goods rose 1.2 percent and final goods gained 0.3 percent. Still, domestic supply prices rose 11.7 percent from a year earlier, the fastest increase since September 2022, showing that accumulated cost pressures have not disappeared.
The total output price index rose 16.7 percent from a year earlier, the highest annual increase since the BOK began compiling the series in 2010.
The index, which includes exports as well as domestic shipments, rose 1.2 percent from April.
Export prices rose 2.3 percent on the month and 46.1 percent from a year earlier, led by computer, electronic and optical products and chemicals.
That compared with an 8.5 percent annual increase in domestic shipment prices, underscoring much stronger price pressure on the export side.
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