Producer prices in November dropped for the first time in three months due to falling prices of agricultural and industrial goods.

The Bank of Korea on Thursday reported that the producer price index for all commodities and services stood at 120-point-42 last month, down zero-point-two percent from a month earlier.

The index, a key barometer of future inflation, dropped for the first time after rising for two months in a row.

Compared to a year earlier, however, the index rose six-point-three percent, with the growth pace slowing for the fifth consecutive month since July.

The rise in the November index is mainly attributed to a three-point-two percent on-month fall in the prices of agricultural, forestry and fishery products, with prices of industrial goods also dropping zero-point-two percent from a month earlier.