The Bank of Korea (BOK) last month held interest rates steady for a fifth straight meeting, as it continued to prioritise price stabilisation amid heightened growth risks.
On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.0% in August, after gaining 0.1% in the prior month, official data showed on Tuesday, beating economists’ median forecast for a 0.3% rise in a Reuters survey.
Annual inflation, which accelerated for the first time in seven months, also topped the 2.7% expected by economists, and marked the quickest since April. It followed a 2.3% rise in July, which was the slowest in 2 years.
The BOK has said consumer inflation is likely to accelerate to around 3% in August and September, before easing again, meaning the latest figures should not come as a surprise to policymakers.
Commenting on the data, the finance ministry said the inflation rate was affected by temporary factors such as adverse weather conditions, along with a rise in global energy prices, but that the overall slowing trend in prices was maintained.
Broken down by sector, prices of petroleum products jumped 8.1% over the month, agricultural prices surged 10.5%, while public service prices climbed 0.5%.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.3% on an annual basis, unchanged from the previous month.
Source: Economy - investing.com
