Producer prices in South Korea continued to shrink at a fast rate last month, slipping to the lowest level in nearly six years, preliminary data from the central bank showed Thursday.

The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, came to 99.75 in October, according to the Bank of Korea.

A BOK official said it marked the first time the index has dropped below the benchmark 100 in 66 months since April 2010 when the index came to 98.97.

"This means overall producer prices have dipped to a level similar to or below those from 2010," said Jeong Kui-yeon, an official from the BOK's economic statistics department.

The October tally marks a 0.6 percent drop from 100.33 tallied in September, as well as a 4.5 percent slip from the same month last year. The October figure also marks the 15th consecutive month of on-year drops.

The cut was mainly attributed to a large drop in global energy prices, which also led to a dip in prices of industrial goods.

The price index of coal and petroleum products plunged 30.7 percent on-year in October, according to BOK. The index covering all industrial goods dropped 7.6 percent on-year while the index for agricultural and fisheries products gained 2.2 percent. (Yonhap)