SEOUL South Korea's producer prices rose in April at the slowest pace in 27 months, as agricultural and utility prices fell, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The Producer Price Index stood 1.6% higher in April than the same month a year before, slower than the 3.3% rise in March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It was the slowest since January 2021.

The index fell 0.1% on a monthly basis, reversing its 0.1% gain in the previous month and marking the first fall in four months, with agricultural product and utility prices dragging it lower.

A BOK official said during a media briefing that there were mixed factors that would affect producer inflation in the following months, such as public utility price increases and a fall in natural gas prices.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Toby Chopra)