October Consumer Prices Rise 3.8%... Over 3% for 3 Consecutive Months (Update)

Statistics Korea October Consumer Price Trends

The consumer price inflation rate last month recorded 3.8%. This is the largest increase since March.

According to the 'October Consumer Price Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 2nd, the consumer price index last month rose by 3.8% compared to the same month last year. It increased for three consecutive months following August (3.4%) and September (3.7%). The rate of increase is the highest in seven months since March (4.2%).

The core consumer price index, excluding agricultural products and petroleum, rose by 3.6% compared to the same month last year. This is 0.2 percentage points lower than September (3.8%). The index excluding food and energy increased by 3.2% compared to the same month last year. The rate of increase fell by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.

The living cost index jumped 4.6% compared to the same month last year. The living cost index is calculated based on 144 items out of a total of 458 items, which are frequently purchased and have a large expenditure share, making price changes more sensitive. Among these, food prices rose by 5.8% compared to the same month last year. Non-food items increased by 3.8%. The living cost index including rent and lease rose by 3.9%.

The fresh food index surged by 12.1% compared to the same month last year. Fresh fruits increased by 26.2%, fresh vegetables by 5.4%, and fresh fishery products by 2.8%.

By expenditure purpose, clothing and footwear rose by 8.1%, and food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 6.7%. Household goods and household services, as well as food and accommodation, also rose by 5.5% and 4.7%, respectively.

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