Bank of Korea producer prices rise 7.7 percent as DRAM, acid costs surge
Producer price inflation eased slightly in September but stayed above 7 percent as semiconductor memory and chemical inputs carried the index higher.
The Bank of Korea said that its preliminary producer price index rose 7.7 percent in September from a year earlier, a pace slower than August's 7.9 percent.
On a monthly basis the index stood at 129.78, up 0.2 percent from August. The annual figure was held up by a small group of items: prices for DRAM chips were 418.1 percent above their September 2025 level, sulfuric acid rose 254.3 percent and solvent gained 199.7 percent. Diesel was up 37.1 percent and beef 20.4 percent over the same period.
The index excluding food and energy rose 7.7 percent year on year, the same rate as the headline measure.
Agricultural, forestry and fishery products climbed 2.6 percent from the previous month as farm goods rose 3.7 percent and livestock 2.7 percent, while manufactured goods were flat as a 1.0 percent gain in chemical products offset a 1.7 percent drop in computers, electronics and optical equipment. Electricity, gas, water and waste rose 1.3 percent on a 13.4 percent jump in residential power rates, and services slipped 0.1 percent as hotel and restaurant charges fell.
The monthly index has now risen for two consecutive months, following a 0.1 percent gain in August and a 0.4 percent decline in July.
The domestic supply price index was unchanged from August and 8.5 percent higher than a year earlier. Raw material prices gained 3.2 percent on the month, while intermediate goods fell 0.3 percent and final goods 0.3 percent. Within raw materials, import prices rose 3.7 percent and domestic shipments 1.5 percent. Intermediate goods slipped 0.3 percent on a 2.4 percent drop in import prices, and final goods fell 0.3 percent as imports declined 2.6 percent while domestic shipments rose 0.2 percent. Capital goods were down 1.1 percent and services 0.3 percent.
The total output price index, which adds exports to domestic shipments, edged down 0.1 percent from August but was 14.7 percent above its year-earlier level, with export prices down 0.9 percent on the month and domestic shipments up 0.2 percent.
What this article is based on
Every fact in this article can be checked against the primary documents below.
- Government한국은행 중앙은행 보도자료· Bank of Korea· accessed Oct. 21, 2026
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