Source : WAM
Consumer prices in South Korea rose at their slowest rate in five months in January, helped in part by stable petroleum product prices, government data released Tuesday showed.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key indicator of inflation, climbed 2 percent year-on-year last month, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. This was the smallest annual increase since August, when inflation stood at 1.7 percent.
Yonhap News Agency reported that inflation had remained above the Bank of Korea’s 2 percent target for four straight months from September through December.
The ministry said the moderation in inflation was largely due to petroleum product prices, which showed little change compared with a year earlier.
Meanwhile, core inflation which excludes volatile food and energy prices rose 2.3 percent year-on-year in January, the ministry added.
