Producer prices rose for the third straight month in March on the back of increased prices of service and industrial goods.

The Bank of Korea on Friday reported that the producer price index for all commodities and services stood at 120-point-58 last month, up one-tenth of a percent from a month earlier to rise for three straight months after falling for two months in a row.

The index, a key barometer of future inflation, rose three-point-three percent from a year earlier, with the pace of on-year increases slowing for the ninth consecutive month.

Prices of industrial products gained zero-point-two percent on-month, while service prices rose zero-point-one percent, with prices in the food service and lodging industries increasing zero-point-seven percent.

The utility prices for electricity, gas and water dropped zero-point-four percent in March from a month earlier.