Producer prices up 0.8 percent month-on-month in May

South Korea's Producer Price Index (PPI) saw a month-on-month increase of 0.8 percent in May 2026, pushing the year-on-year rise to 8.5 percent.

This overall increase was influenced by varied movements across major sub-indices.

Agricultural, forestry, and marine products experienced a 0.8 percent month-on-month decrease, though still showing a 4.8 percent year-on-year increase.

In contrast, manufacturing products rose by 0.7 percent month-on-month, reflecting a significant 13.3 percent year-on-year surge.

Electric power, gas, water, and waste services increased by 0.5 percent monthly, with a modest 0.2 percent year-on-year change.

Services, a key component, recorded a 1.2 percent month-on-month rise and a 4.9 percent year-on-year increase, indicating broad-based price pressures in the service sector.

Notably, financial and insurance activities within services saw an 8.3 percent monthly jump and a 35.3 percent annual increase, highlighting specific areas of accelerating costs.

Beyond the headline PPI, other key indices also showed significant movements.

The Domestic Supply Price Index remained unchanged month-on-month in May 2026, but registered a substantial 11.7 percent increase year-on-year.

This index, which measures price changes for goods and services supplied to the domestic market, saw raw materials decline by 8.1 percent monthly, while intermediate goods and services rose by 1.2 percent, and final goods and services increased by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the Total Output Price Index, reflecting changes in prices of goods and services produced by domestic producers, advanced by 1.2 percent month-on-month and a notable 16.7 percent year-on-year.

These broader measures underscore the pervasive nature of price increases throughout the production chain.