Producer prices rose for the first time in three months in December due to price rises in agricultural products and gas.

The Bank of Korea said on Tuesday that the producer price index for all commodities and services rose zero-point-one percent from a month earlier to stand at 121-point-19 in December, the first uptick in three months.

Compared to the same month last year, the index, a key barometer of future inflation, saw growth of one-point-two percent as it increased for the fifth consecutive month.

The prices of agricultural, forestry and fishery products gained four-point-nine percent, while prices of industrial goods dropped zero-point-four percent as the prices of coal and petroleum products fell three-point-seven percent amid a decline in global oil prices.

Prices of utilities including electricity, gas and water as well as waste management climbed one percent on the back of a six-point-seven percent rise in industrial gas prices.

Producer prices grew an average of one-point-six percent in 2023 from a year earlier, slowing from an eight-point-four percent increase in 2022.