A Central Bank report

SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) - South Korea's producer prices rose slightly last month from a year earlier due to hikes in the prices of manufactured goods and agricultural and fisheries products, the central bank said Thursday.

The producer price index came to 100.79 in December, up from 99.02 a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Producer prices serve as an indicator of future consumer inflation.

Monthly, the December index also gained from a revised 99.97 in November.

Prices of manufactured goods rose 2.8 percent in December from a year earlier, while prices of agricultural and fisheries goods gained 7.3 percent during the same period, the data showed.

Utility prices, including electricity and water, fell 7.5 percent in December from a year earlier.

entropy@yna.co.kr

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