S. Korea’s consumer price up 5 percent on year in November

[Photo by Lee Chung-woo]

South Korea’s consumer price stayed above 5 percent, but the growth pace slowed last month as price of oil and farm products showed limited increases, government data showed Friday.

The consumer price index (CPI) stood at 109.10 in November, up 5.0 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. But the growth pace slowed by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.

The country’s headline inflation stayed above 5 percent for seven straight months after peaking at 6.3 percent in July. In October, the CPI rose 5.7 percent due to energy bill hikes.

Inflation rates [Source : Statistics Korea]

By items, the price for agricultural, livestock and fishery products gained 0.3 percent in November from a year ago after a 5.2 percent jump in October. Agricultural prices dropped 2 percent from a year ago, the first decline since May. Livestock and fishery products added 1.1 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.

The price for industrial products gained 5.9 percent in November following a 6.3 percent rise in the previous month. Prices of oil products and processed food rose by 5.6 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively. After rising by as much as 39.6 percent in June, the growth of oil products gradually slowed to 35.1 percent in July and 10.7 percent in October.

The price of electricity, gas and water jumped 23.1 percent, the same as the previous month, due to the utility bill hikes in October. The price increase in electricity, gas, and water was the highest since the data was first compiled in January 2010.