A buyer outlets in a grocery store in Seoul, Feb. 24. Yonhap
Korea’s shopper costs rose at a 2 p.c degree for the second consecutive month in February, pushed by a weaker native forex that pushed up import prices, information confirmed Thursday.
Client costs, a key gauge of inflation, elevated 2 p.c from a 12 months earlier final month, based on the information from Statistics Korea. This follows a 2.2 p.c on-year rise in January, which marked the steepest on-year improve since July.
Korea’s shopper inflation has remained under 3 p.c since April and under the central financial institution’s 2 p.c goal since September, when it grew 1.6 p.c on-year.
The inflation price dipped additional to 1.3 p.c in October earlier than barely rising to 1.5 p.c the next month. The speed got here to 1.9 p.c in December.
The company attributed the current uptick to highergy costs and the depreciation of the Korean gained. South Korea depends closely on imported oil to fulfill its power wants.
„Worldwide crude costs have remained steady in comparison with the identical interval final 12 months, however elements, such because the trade price and the discount of gas tax cuts, have had an affect,“ mentioned Lee Doo-won, an official at Statistics Korea.
In February, petroleum product costs climbed 6.3 p.c on-year, barely easing from a 7.3 p.c improve in January that marked the biggest on-year acquire since July.
The Korean gained has been underneath strain attributable to political uncertainty following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived imposition of martial legislation on Dec. 3. The state of affairs has been additional exacerbated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff escalation.
By sector, costs of agricultural, livestock and fisheries merchandise elevated 1 p.c on-year in February, whereas these of commercial items rose 2 p.c, based on the company.
Service costs climbed 2.1 p.c on-year, partly pushed by greater insurance coverage premiums. Personal medical health insurance prices, particularly, surged 15.1 p.c from a 12 months earlier.
Core inflation, which excludes unstable meals and power costs, grew 1.8 p.c on-year, staying under the two p.c degree for the fifth consecutive month.
Costs of each day requirements — 144 gadgets carefully associated to folks’s on a regular basis lives, akin to meals, clothes and housing — went up 2.6 p.c, barely accelerating from a 2.5 p.c on-year improve the earlier month. (Yonhap)
