Seoul, June 4 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.9% year-on-year in May, according to Statistics Korea on Tuesday. This marks a slowdown from previous months, with inflation falling below 2% for the first time in five months.
The May CPI stood at 116.27, the agency said.
Key Drivers of Inflation:
- Service Prices: Service prices saw a 2.3% increase, with personal service prices rising by 3.2%. This contributed 1.08 percentage points to the overall inflation rate.
- Processed Food: Prices of processed food increased by 4.1%, pushing up the overall CPI by 0.35 percentage points.
- Agricultural and Livestock Products: These prices saw a marginal increase of 0.1%.
- Petroleum Products: bucking the trend, petroleum product prices decreased by 2.3%, which lowered the overall CPI by 0.09 percentage points.
Underlying Inflation:
- The CPI, excluding food and energy prices, rose by 2% year-on-year, showing a slight decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous month.
- The core CPI, which excludes agricultural and petroleum products, increased by 2.3%.
- The living necessities index, which reflects the price changes that people feel most acutely, rose by 2.3%.
Conclusion:
The slowdown in South Korea’s CPI in May offers a sign of relief after months of rising inflation. While service and processed food prices continue to exert upward pressure, the decrease in petroleum product prices has helped to mitigate overall inflation. It remains to be seen whether this trend will continue in the coming months, as the global economic landscape remains uncertain.
References:
Yonhap News Agency. (2024, June 4). South Korea’s May CPI Rises 1.9% Y/Y. Retrieved from https://cn.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20240604007100009
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