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A Bank of Korea chart illustrates movements in the producer price index for October, driven in part by higher semiconductor prices. / Source: Bank of Korea

Korea’s producer price index (PPI) extended its upward trend in October, as higher prices for manufactured goods such as computers, electronics and primary metal products, along with financial, insurance, restaurant and lodging services, lifted overall price levels.

On November 21, the Bank of Korea said the producer price index for October rose 0.2% from the previous month. Prices for computers, electronic and optical products, including semiconductors, climbed 3.9%, while financial and insurance services increased 2.9%.

In contrast, prices for agricultural, forestry and fishery products—which had previously contributed to upward pressure on the index—fell 4.2% on-month as both farm and livestock product prices declined.

The domestic supply price index, which tracks price changes for goods and services supplied to the domestic market and is broken down by production stage into raw materials, intermediate goods and final goods, rose 0.9% from September.

The total output price index, which measures overall price changes for domestically produced goods and services based on total output including exports as well as domestic shipments, also climbed 1.1% on-month.

Lee Moon-hee, head of the price statistics team at the Bank of Korea’s Economic Statistics Department, said the index for computers, electronic and optical products rose because “strong demand for semiconductors drove a sharp increase in prices.”