Producer prices rise 0.4% on month in December 2025 due to increased semiconductor, food product prices

Producer prices in Korea rose for the fourth consecutive month in December 2025, as costs for semiconductors and food products continued to climb.

Shoppers browse for groceries at a supermarket in Seoul on Jan. 20. [YONHAP]

Producer prices in Korea rose for the fourth consecutive month in December 2025, as costs for semiconductors and food products continued to climb.

The Producer Price Index rose 0.4 percent that December from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Tuesday. It marked the fourth consecutive monthly increase since last September.

Prices for agricultural, forestry and fishery goods jumped 3.4 percent on month, led by a 5.8 percent rise in farm products and a 2.3 percent increase in seafood.

Industrial goods also rose 0.4 percent. Computers, electronics and optical equipment, including semiconductors, saw a 2.3 percent gain, and basic metal products climbed 1.1 percent.

Prices in the service industry rose 0.2 percent. Financial and insurance services increased by 0.7 percent, and restaurant and lodging prices went up 0.4 percent.

Among specific items, prices of apples surged by 19.8 percent, tangerines by 12.9 percent, chicken by 7.2 percent and squid by 6.1 percent. Dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, prices, jumped by 15.1 percent, flash memory by 6 percent and primary refined copper by 9.9 percent. Diesel prices fell 7.3 percent, and naphtha dropped 3.8 percent.

A shopper browses for groceries at a supermarket in Seoul on Jan. 20. [NEWS1]

“Prices for industrial goods such as semiconductors and basic metals rose alongside agricultural and fishery products, which led to an overall increase in producer prices in December [2025],” said Lee Moon-hee, the head of the price statistics team at the BOK. “Whether producer prices will be passed on to consumers immediately or with a time lag depends on companies’ pricing strategies, business conditions and the government’s inflation control measures.

“We also need to monitor the impact of falling global oil prices.”

In December of last year, the Domestic Supply Price Index, which includes imported goods, rose 0.4 percent from the previous month. Prices for raw materials climbed by 1.8 percent, intermediate goods by 0.4 percent and final goods by 0.2 percent. The Total Output Price Index, which also includes exports, also rose 0.4 percent, led by gains in agricultural and industrial products.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY JEONG JAE-HONG [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]