Korea's inflation slows to 2.9% in April

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Korea's inflation slows to 2.9% in April

Published: 02 May. 2024, 08:08 Updated: 04 Jun. 2024, 08:42

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

Customers shop for fresh fruits and vegetables at a discount mart in Seoul on Thursday. Korea's consumer prices rose 2.9 percent from the same period a year ago in April, according to Statistics Korea. [YONHAP]

Korea’s inflation slowed down in April, with consumer prices increasing at a relatively milder pace of 2.9 percent on year compared to the previous month, data showed Thursday.

Inflation once again fell below the 3 percent mark, after two consecutive months of 3.1 percent increases.

The consumer price index, a barometer of inflation, rose 2.9 percent last month compared to the same period a year prior, according the latest data from Statistics Korea.

The on-year figure stood at 3.1 percent in both March and February, as consumer prices took an upturn after falling below the 3 percent threshold for the first time in six months in January at 2.8 percent.

Fresh food, in particular, continued to drive inflation with a 19.1 percent surge in prices, following March’s on-year increase of 19.5 percent. However, the figure declined on a monthly basis, down 1.6 percent from the previous month.

The on-year increase in agricultural, marine and livestock product prices remained strong at 10.6 percent but slowed from the previous month’s 11.7 percent. On a monthly basis, prices retreated by 2.4 percent.

Fruit prices jumped 38.7 percent from the same period last year after a whopping 40.9 percent surge in March, while vegetables saw a 12.9 percent increase, following the previous month’s 11 percent jump.

Prices of oil products logged a 1.3 percent increase on year, while utility rates — including water, gas and electricity — rose 4.9 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, grew 2.2 percent in April, once again slowing from a 2.4 percent gain in March. The figure stood at 2.6 percent in February and January.

The latest inflation readings suggest that “the easing trend has set in again,” noted the Ministry of Economy and Finance in a release on Thursday.

The ministry said that “the prices of agricultural, marine and livestock products declined from the previous month thanks to weather conditions and a gradual improvement in the supply situation,” leading to a deceleration in inflation despite an increase in oil prices.

The ministry reaffirmed its commitment to bringing inflation down to its 2 percent target range as early as possible, pledging to address risk factors including “volatility in global crude prices and the abnormal climate.”

The Ministry of Economy and Finance forecast Korea's inflation to reach 2.6 percent this year.

The government will set up a cross-functional organization dedicated to enhancing everyday livelihoods, and take fundamental measures to cut the distribution costs of fresh food products, such as an expansion of the online wholesale marketplace. The plan was announced on Wednesday during an emergency ministerial meeting.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]