Consumer price inflation rate down to 2 percent range for first time in three months

Fresh fruit prices rose 38.7 percent in April from the same month last year, with apples up 80.8 percent and pears up 102.9 percent, according to the latest consumer price trend. Apples and pears are displayed at a hypermarket in Seoul on April 2. Cho Tae-hyung

The consumer price inflation rate has fallen below 3 percent for the first time in three months. However, fruit prices continue to soar, with those of apple and pear more than doubling from a year ago.

According to the data released by Statistics Korea on May 2, the consumer price index rose 2.9 percent last month compared to the same month last year.

After hitting 2.8 percent in January, the consumer price inflation rate remained at 3.1 percent for the two consecutive months and returned to the 2 percent range in three months.

By product, prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products rose 10.6 percent on-year. Prices of livestock products (0.3 percent) and aquatic products (0.4 percent) showed a stable trend, but those of agricultural products jumped 20.3 percent. Prices of processed food were up 1.6 percent, petroleum up 1.3 percent, and electricity, gas, and water up 4.9 percent, respectively.

In terms of contribution, agricultural products raised the inflation rate by 0.76 percentage points. Prices for personal services, including eating out, also contributed to inflation by 0.95 percentage points. Petroleum prices continued to increase for the second consecutive month amid risks in the Middle East, but its contribution to inflation was only 0.05 percentage points.

"Despite the unstable situation in the Middle East, petroleum prices did not increase as much as expected," said Gong Mi-sook, a researcher at Statistics Korea, adding, "We need to pay attention to oil prices, an exogenous variable."

However, the living price index, which consists mainly of frequently purchased items, rose 3.5 percent with fruits and vegetables still recording the highest inflation rate. The fresh food index was up 19.1 percent on-year, driven by strong fruit prices, as it was in the previous month.

Prices of fresh fruits, led by apples (80.8 percent) and pears (102.9 percent), were up 38.7 percent from the same month last year, with pears recording the largest increase since January 1975, when related statistics began to be compiled.

Although the increase became smaller compared to the previous month due to the improvement of weather conditions and the government's support for supply prices, the price is expected to continue to remain strong until fresh fruits are harvested in July and August as storage volumes continue to decline.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.