Seoul: South Korea's producer prices increased for the ninth consecutive month in May due mainly to higher petroleum and raw materials prices stemming from the ongoing Middle East crisis, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index (PPI), a key gauge of future consumer inflation, climbed 0.8 percent last month from a month earlier, decelerating from the previous month's 2.8 percent on-month gain, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

According to Yonhap News Agency, in April, producer prices rose at the sharpest monthly pace since February 1998, when the index also rose 2.5 percent during a global financial crisis. From a year earlier, producer prices rose 8.5 percent in May, the data showed. Producer prices are a key indicator of future inflation trends, as they influence the prices businesses charge consumers in the months ahead.

The increase came as prices of industrial goods increased 0.7 percent on-month in May, driven by a rise in coal and petroleum products. In contrast, prices of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products fell 0.8 percent on-month, while service prices gained 1.2 percent, the data showed. The domestic supply price index, which reflects both producer and import prices, remained unchanged on-month in May.

The conflict in the Middle East, which began in late February following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, has since escalated into a broader regional crisis, pushing up global oil prices amid supply disruptions and rattling global markets.