Producer prices continued to rise for the seventh consecutive month in July, albeit at a slower pace than before.

According to the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the producer price index for all commodities and services stood at 120-point-47 last month, up zero-point-three percent from a month earlier.

The index, a key barometer of future inflation, has grown for seven straight months, but the growth pace has slowed from one-point-six percent in April, zero-point-seven percent in May and zero-point-six percent in June.

Compared to a year earlier, however, the index jumped nine-point-two percent.

The prices of agricultural and fishery products rose by four-point-one percent on-month in July, while farm products soared eleven-point-nine percent, but the prices of livestock and fishery products fell two percent and three-point-five percent, respectively.

The prices of industrial products dropped zero-point-six percent in July from a month ago due to the fall in the prices of oil and raw materials, the first drop in seven months. Service prices gained zero-point-six percent, primarily in food service and lodging industries due to a combination of rising ingredient costs and higher seasonal demand.