Consumer Prices Rise 2.3% This Year... Exceeding Government Target (Update)

December Consumer Prices Up 1.9%
Slowing to 1% Range for Four Consecutive Months
Increase Larger Than Previous Month

The consumer price inflation rate slowed down, recording a 1% range for four consecutive months. Prices of fresh food items related to meal costs rose by nearly 3%.

For the entire year, the consumer price inflation rate was in the low to mid 2% range, showing a slowdown compared to last year, but it still exceeded the government's target.

According to the "December 2024 and Annual Consumer Price Trends" released by Statistics Korea on the 31st, the consumer price index this year rose by 2.3% compared to one year ago. This is the lowest level in four years since 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was 0.5%, but it still exceeded the government's price stability target of 2.0%.

The annual consumer price inflation rate rose from the 0% range in 2019?2020 to 2.5% in 2021, 5.1% in 2022, and continued the high inflation trend until last year (3.6%).

The core inflation rate, which excludes volatile food and energy items, rose by 2.2%. The living cost index, which mainly consists of frequently purchased items and is close to the perceived inflation rate, recorded a 2.7% increase.

This year, prices of fruits and vegetables surged, causing the fresh food index to jump 9.8% compared to last year. This is the highest level in 14 years since 2010 (21.3%).

The consumer price index in December rose 1.9% compared to the same month last year. The consumer price inflation rate fell to the 1% range in September (1.6%) and continued to rise in the 1% range for four consecutive months. However, the rate of increase was larger than last month (1.5%).

The living cost index rose 2.2% compared to one year ago, returning to the 2% range. The living cost index peaked at 4.6% in October last year, fluctuated in the 3% range this year, and the rate of increase significantly slowed from September (1.5%). In October, the increase slowed to 1.2%, but it has been rising again since last month (1.6%).

The living cost index is compiled by selecting 144 items that are frequently purchased and have a large expenditure share, making consumers sensitive to price changes. Among these, food prices rose 2.7% compared to one year ago, showing a slowdown in the rate of increase, while non-food items rose 1.9%, showing a 1% range increase. The living cost index including rent and lease rose 1.9%.

The fresh food index related to meal costs rose 2.9% compared to the same month last year, with a significant increase compared to the previous month (0.4%). Fresh fruits fell sharply by 2.5%, but fresh vegetables and fresh seafood rose by 10.7% and 1.3%, respectively.

By item, radish recorded the largest increase at 98.4%, and carrots (65.5%), gim (34.3%), tangerines (32.4%), napa cabbage (26.4%), tomatoes (20.6%), and pork (6.5%) also showed considerable increases.

Persimmons (-20.7%), green onions (-16.5%), bananas (-9.7%), apples (-7.7%), rice (-6.1%), chicken (-5.3%), and domestic beef (-1.0%) declined.

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