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| ▲ People shop for groceries at a supermarket in Seoul on Dec. 28, 2022. (Yonhap) |
consumer prices-2022 tally
Consumer price growth hits 24-year high in 2022
By Kang Yoon-seung
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in more than two decades in 2022, government data showed Friday, as the country felt the pinch of soaring prices of raw materials and energy sources following the Russia-Ukraine war.
Consumer prices rose 5.1 percent on-year in 2022, accelerating from a 2.5 percent gain in 2021, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
It marked the steepest on-year rise since 1998, when consumer inflation spiked 7.5 percent in the wake of the Asian financial crisis.
The 2022 reading came in line with the government's previous estimate.
In December, consumer prices grew 5 percent from a year earlier. Inflation rose more than 5 percent for the eighth month in a row.
Consumer prices earlier increased at the fastest pace in almost 24 years at 6.3 percent in July.
The figure stayed above 2 percent -- the central bank's inflation target over the medium term -- for the 21st straight month in November.
South Korea has been grappling with inflation following a sharp rise in energy and raw material prices amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
To tame inflation, the Bank of Korea has hiked its benchmark interest rate by a combined 2.75 percentage points since August last year. The current rate stands at 3.25 percent.
The finance ministry earlier estimated next year's inflation at 3.5 percent.
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