South Korea Sept consumer inflation accelerates for second month

Office workers pick up lunch boxes at a convenience store in Seoul, South Korea, June 24, 2022. Picture taken June 24, 2022. REUTERS/ Heo Ran/File photo

SEOUL  – South Korea’s consumer inflation accelerated for a second month in September, outpacing market expectations, official data showed on Thursday.

The consumer price index stood 3.7 percent higher in September from a year earlier, after recording a 3.4 percent rise in August. Economists in a Reuters survey had expected the figure to stay unchanged.

It was the second consecutive month the annual rate quickened, from a 25-month low of 2.3 percent in July, and marked the fastest annual rise in five months.

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said after the data release that inflation would likely stabilize again from October with seasonal factors easing.

READ: South Korea think-tank raises inflation forecast on higher energy prices

On a monthly basis, the index rose 0.6 percent, according to Statistics Korea, compared with a 1- percent jump the previous month and a median 0.3 percent forecast.

Broken down by sector, prices of petroleum products jumped 4 percent over the month, agricultural prices climbed 4.1 percent, while public utility prices added 5.3 percent.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was 3.3 percent higher in September on an annual basis, the same as in August.

READ: Bank of Korea holds interest rates steady, as expected

The data comes two weeks before the Bank of Korea’s next policy decision. The central bank held interest rates steady for a fifth straight meeting at its last review in August, seeking to balance softer inflation and heightened risks to growth.