Korea's inflation slows to 2% in August, lowest in over three years

Economy

Korea's inflation slows to 2% in August, lowest in over three years

Published: 03 Sep. 2024, 09:00 Updated: 03 Sep. 2024, 10:56

SHIN HA-NEE
shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr

A shopper looks at a shelf of Korean beef at a supermarket in Seoul on Monday. [YONHAP]

Korea’s inflation slowed to the lowest level in more than three years in August as prices for agricultural and petroleum products stabilized.

The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, rose 2.0 percent on year last month, according to data from Statistics Korea released Tuesday.

This yearly increase marked the lowest since the 1.9 percent recorded in March 2021.

Headline inflation remained below the 3 percent mark for the fifth consecutive month in August. After dropping below 3 percent for the first time in six months in June, it rebounded to 3.1 percent in February and March. The figure fell again to 2.9 percent in April, 2.7 percent in May and 2.4 percent in June before inching up to 2.6 percent due to monsoon rains in July.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.4 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, inched down to 2.1 percent after remaining flat for three consecutive months at 2.2 percent.

The cost-of-living index, which tracks the price changes of 144 types of frequently purchased consumer goods and services, rose 2.1 percent, a significant deceleration from the previous month’s 3.0 percent on-year gain.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]