SEOUL- South Korea's producer price grew at a slower pace in September than a month earlier amid falling energy and food prices, the central bank said Tuesday.

The producer price index (PPI), a barometer of future consumer price inflation, gained 5.7 percent in September from a year earlier, slower than a 6.6 percent on-year advance in August, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a statement.

The September growth was slower than the previous month, but the producer prices kept an on-year rise for the 22th straight month. From a month before, producer prices edged up 0.1 percent in September, down from a 0.3 percent on-month rise in August.

The BOK attributed the slower PPI growth to a decline in agricultural product prices and falling steel product prices amid lower global commodity prices.

Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products dropped 4.2 percent on-month in September after posting a 4.9 percent on- month gain the previous month, according to the BOK. Price growth for vegetables and fishery goods turned negative last month, while livestock product prices fell faster in September than the previous month.

Prices of manufactured goods rose 0.5 percent on-month in September, faster than a 0.1 percent on-month rise the previous month. Primary steel product prices decreased 0.6 percent in September from a month before amid lowering global commodity prices, but prices of oil-related product such as petrochemical products and petroleum products grew due to the local currency's depreciation against the US dollar, the BOK said.

Prices for electricity, water and gas inched up 0.1 percent on- month in September, down from a 2.4 percent on-month jump in August when the government raised electricity prices by 4.9 percent on average.