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| ▲ This photo, taken Oct. 31, 2021, shows gas prices at a filling station in Seoul. (Yonhap) |
consumer prices-October
Inflation growth hits near 10-year high in Oct. amid rising oil prices
By Kim Soo-yeon
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest clip in almost a decade in October due to last year's low base effect and surging oil prices, data showed Tuesday, underscoring a build-up in inflationary pressure amid the economic recovery.
The consumer prices rose 3.2 percent in October from a year earlier, accelerating from a 2.5 percent on-year gain in September, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
Compared with a month earlier, consumer inflation inched up 0.1 percent.
It marked the fastest on-year gain since January 2012, when consumer prices grew 3.3 percent. The on-year growth of inflation also rose to the 3 percent range for the first time since February 2012.
In October, the consumer prices grew more than 2 percent -- the central bank's midterm inflation target -- for the seventh consecutive month.
The pickup in inflation was mainly attributable to the base effect from last year's one-off state subsidies for mobile phone bills and rising oil prices.
The government cut mobile phone fees by 20,000 won (US$17) per person in specific age groups in October 2020 to help ease their financial burden amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and oil prices, rose 2.4 percent on-year last month, the fastest since December 2015.
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