South Korea’s consumer price grows 3.7% on-year in April

[Images source: Yonhap]

South Korea’s consumer price growth slowed to 3 percent range for the first time in 14 months in April helped by a continuous decline in petroleum prices, although the inflation trend is not letting up soon as the OECD-defined core inflation rate is increasing faster than the overall consumer price inflation rate.

According to data released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday, the consumer price index in April rose 3.7 percent on-year to 110.80. This marks a slowdown in the inflation rate, which is 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous month’s increase of 4.2 percent and the first time it has dropped to the 3 percent range since February 2022 when it was 3.7 percent.

The inflationary trend has been moderating since its peak in July 2022 at 6.3 percent, except for October 2022 and January 2023, which were affected by increases in public utility fees.

The continued decline in oil prices is contributing to the slowdown in overall inflation. The price of petroleum products fell 16.4 percent from a year ago, marking the biggest decline in 35 months since an 18.7 percent drop in May 2020.

The price of agricultural products also rose 1.0 percent, down from 3.0 percent in the previous month. The price of livestock products fell 1.1 percent, the third consecutive month of declines. Domestic and imported beef prices also fell.

Electricity, gas and water prices surged 23.7 percent on-year, but their growth slowed from 28.4 percent in the previous month.

In contrast, the price of personal services increased by 6.1 percent, which is an expansion from the previous month’s 5.8 percent increase.