Inflation expectations fall for second consecutive month in Sept.: BOK data

Consumers shop groceries at a large mart in Seoul on August 23. [YONHAP]

Korea's inflation expectations declined for a second straight month in September amid falling oil prices, a central bank survey showed Monday.

Ordinary people expected consumer prices will grow 4.2 percent over the next year, down 0.1 percentage point from 4.3 percent of the previous month, according to the poll conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The inflation expectations index have shown a gradual decline since July, when the monthly figure peaked at an all-time high of 4.7 percent.

Data on expected inflation is closely monitored, as a rise could prompt people to demand wage hikes due to expectations that their real purchasing power will decline.

"Despite monetary policy tightening in major economies and the growing economic uncertainties, inflation has slowed with falling oil prices overseas and the growing employment and consumption in the service sector (at home)," said Hwang Hee-jin, a senior official at the BOK's statistics research team.

The BOK's data also revealed that the composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) for September stood at 91.4, up 2.6 points from the previous month.

The CCSI rebounded for a second month in September after the July index dipped to the lowest since September 2020 on aggressive monetary tightening and soaring energy costs.

Yonhap