Producer prices dropped for the first time in four months in April as prices of agricultural products and utilities fell.

The Bank of Korea reported on Thursday that the producer price index for all commodities and services stood at 120-point-51 last month, down one-tenth of a percent from a month earlier.

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

Compared to a year earlier, however, the index rose one-point-six percent in April, although the growth pace continued to slow for the tenth consecutive month since July of last year.

Prices of agricultural, forestry and fishery products dropped one-point-eight percent on-month in April, while prices for electricity, gas and water came down by two-point-eight percent on-month.

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