Consumer Price Inflation Rate Hits 1% Range for First Time in 6 Months... First Since COVID-19 Spread (Update)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Last month, the consumer price index rose by 1.0% compared to last year, marking a 1% increase rate for the first time in six months. This is the first time since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading, that the increase rate reached 1.0%.

According to the consumer price trends from Statistics Korea on the 6th, the consumer price index for September was 106.20 (2015=100), up 1.0% from the same month last year.

The consumer price inflation rate was in the 1% range from January to March this year, then dropped to 0.1% in April and -0.3% in May, before showing an upward trend again starting in June. It was 0.0% in June, 0.3% in July, 0.7% in August, and expanded the increase last month.

By category, goods rose 1.0% and services rose 0.5% compared to last year. Among goods, agricultural, livestock, and fishery products increased by 13.5%, industrial products by 0.7%, and electricity, water, and gas decreased by 4.1%. Among services, rent rose by 0.4%, public services fell by 1.4%, and personal services increased by 1.3%.

Lee Doowon, head of the price trends division at Statistics Korea, explained, "Overall prices are still at a low level, but recently, the prices of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products have risen sharply, contributing to the overall price increase," adding, "The re-spread of COVID-19 has also had a macroeconomic impact, such as reduced demand for petroleum products and falling oil prices."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.