Inflation in South Korea continues to decline for the fifth month in a row

Official data published on Tuesday showed that the pace of consumer price growth in South Korea continued to slow for the fifth month in a row last month, as the rate of price increases fell below 3% for the first time in 21 months.

Consumer prices, a key measure of inflation, rose by 2.7% year-on-year in June compared to 3.3% in May, according to the report released by the Korea statistics agency.

The South Korean Yonhap news agency pointed out that the data also showed that the rate of price increases fell below 3% annually for the first time since September 2021.

At the same time, electricity, gas and water prices continued to rise sharply, reaching 25.9% per annum, after the State Electric Power Company of Korea recently raised its bills amid fluctuations in global energy prices, and South Korea relies heavily on imports for its energy needs.

On the other hand, the prices of agricultural, fish and animal products increased by 0.2% after the increase in the prices of apples and chicken by 11.1% and 13.7%, respectively, during the past month.

Prices for industrial products also increased by 0.2% per annum, driven by higher costs for bread and children’s clothing.

On the other hand, gasoline and diesel prices decreased by 23.8% and 32.5%, respectively, during this period, which limited the overall price growth in the country.