S. Korea`s producer price growth slows in Dec.

SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's producer prices grew at a slower pace in
December than a month earlier due to falls in oil and raw materials costs, the
central bank said Friday, easing upward pressure on inflation.
The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, grew 5.6
percent last month, decelerating from a 7.8 percent on-year gain the previous
month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Growth in producer prices has been on a downward trend for five straight months
since it hit a 10-year high in July on soaring oil costs, it added.
The data comes after the central bank cut its key interest rate by 0.5 percentage
point earlier in the day to a record low. Since early October, the BOK has cut
its key interest rate by a combined 2.25 percentage points to 2.5 percent in a
bid to keep global financial turmoil from sharply slowing the real economy.
The South Korean economy grew 0.5 percent in the third quarter from three months
earlier, the slowest growth in four years as exports lost steam and domestic
demand weakened.
South Korea's consumer prices grew 4.1 percent on-year in December, decelerating
from a 4.5 percent advance in November as oil and raw materials prices declined.
Prices still breached, however, the BOK's target range of 2.5-3.5 percent for the
13th straight month.
sam@yna.co.kr
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