SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's producer price declined for the fifth straight month in September on the back of lower oil and raw material costs, the central bank said Friday.

    According to a report by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the producer price index, which is directly related to future consumer inflation, declined 2.6 percent on year in September, marking a five-month-straight fall.

    The amount of the on-year decrease also moderated from a month ago when the figure hit 3 percent.

    Producer prices, meanwhile, marked an on-month gain of 0.1 percent, while it hit a 0.5 percent monthly rise in August, the BOK added.

    The year-on-year drop in producer prices was attributed to lower costs for oil and raw materials, which in turn relieved inflationary pressure in the local economy, a BOK official said.

    The data followed the central bank's earlier announcement to freeze the nation's key rate at a record low of 2 percent for the eighth consecutive month.

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