S.Korea’s consumer price rises 1.6 pct in September

SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s consumer price inflation fell below 2 percent in September due to a downturn in oil products prices, the first in three and a half years, statistical office data showed Wednesday.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.6 percent in September from a year earlier, retreating below the central bank’s mid-term inflation target of 2 percent for the first time since March 2021, according to Statistics Korea.
The headline inflation has roughly declined this year from 3.1 percent in February to 2.9 percent in April, 2.4 percent in June and 2.0 percent in August.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January last year.
Expectations ran high for the BOK to lower its policy rate by the end of this year following interest rate cuts by half a percentage point in the United States last month.
Oil products prices tumbled 7.6 percent in September from a year earlier, marking the first fall in seven months since February.
It pulled down the overall headline inflation by 0.32 percentage points.
Gasoline and diesel prices went down 8.0 percent and 12.0 percent each, but liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices picked up 13.8 percent.
Price for industrial products, including oil products, added 0.3 percent last month, lifting the consumer price inflation by 0.11 percentage points.
The processed food price gained 1.6 percent in September on a yearly basis, lower than an increase of 1.9 percent in the previous month.
Price for agricultural, livestock and fishery products grew 2.3 percent last month, lower than a growth of 2.4 percent in the prior month.
Agricultural product prices swelled 3.3 percent on a double-digit expansion in vegetable prices, which jumped 11.5 percent on the back of the prolonged heatwave.
Price for electricity, natural gas and tap water was up 3.0 percent, pulling up the overall inflation by 0.12 percentage points.
Private service prices, including eating-out costs, mounted 2.9 percent last month, while public service prices increased 1.3 percent.
Housing rent, including Jeonse and monthly rent, inched up 0.5 percent in September from a year earlier.
Jeonse is South Korea’s unique contract between two households where a landlord grants the two-year residential right to a tenant, who in turn lends a certain amount of money, or deposit, to the landlord.
The livelihood items index, which gauges the price for daily necessities, gained 1.5 percent in September after expanding 2.1 percent in the previous month.
The fresh food index, which measures the price for fish, shellfish, fruit and vegetables, climbed 3.4 percent last month, higher than a growth of 3.2 percent in the prior month.
Demand-side inflationary pressure remained relatively low. The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile agricultural and oil products, added 1.8 percent last month. ■