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E-mail Xinhua, April 2, 2025
SEOUL, April 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer price inflation hovered above 2 percent for the third consecutive month due to higher prices for livestock and fishery products, statistical office data showed Wednesday.
Consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.1 percent in March from a year earlier after going up 2.2 percent in January and 2.0 percent in February, according to Statistics Korea.
The headline inflation stayed above the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s mid-term inflation target of 2 percent amid the policy rate cuts.
The BOK lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.75 percent in February after cutting it by the same percentage point in October and November last year.
After bottoming at 1.3 percent in October 2024, the consumer price inflation showed an upward tendency with 1.5 percent in November and 1.9 percent in December.
Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products grew 0.9 percent in March, slower than the growth of 1.0 percent in the previous month.
Agricultural products prices declined 1.1 percent, but livestock products prices gained 3.1 percent.
Fishery products prices jumped 4.9 percent in March on a yearly basis, marking the fastest in 19 months since August 2023.
Prices for tangerine, kimchi cabbage, white radish and onion advanced in double digits, but those for tomato, green onion, persimmon, zucchini and cucumber retreated in double figures.
Prices for pork and imported beef mounted in single figures, and seaweed price surged 32.8 percent.
Prices for industrial products, including oil products, climbed 1.7 percent in March, dragging up the headline inflation by 0.58 percentage points.
Oil products prices increased 2.8 percent in March from a year earlier, lower than the hike of 6.3 percent in the previous month.
Prices for gasoline and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) picked up 3.2 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively.
Processed food price spiked 3.6 percent last month, logging the highest in 15 months since December 2023.
Prices for electricity, natural gas and tap water swelled 3.1 percent, pulling up the overall inflation by 0.12 percentage points.
City gas charges, heating costs and waterworks fees rose in single digits, but the electricity bill was down 0.4 percent.
Private service prices, including eating-out cost, soared 3.1 percent last month, lifting the inflation by 1.05 percentage points. Public service prices added 1.4 percent.
The eating-out expense grew 3.0 percent, and the private service price excluding the dining-out cost increased 3.2 percent.
Housing rent, including Jeonse and monthly rent, inched up 0.7 percent in March from a year earlier.
Jeonse is South Korea's unique contract between two households where a landlord grants a two-year residential right to a tenant, who in turn lends a certain amount of money, or deposit, to the landlord.
The livelihood items index, which gauges price for daily necessities, went up 2.4 percent in March on a yearly basis, lower than an expansion of 2.6 percent in the previous month.
The fresh food index, which measures the price for fish, shellfish, fruit and vegetables, slipped 1.3 percent last month after decreasing 1.4 percent in the prior month.
Demand-side inflationary pressure remained relatively low. The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile agricultural and oil products, appreciated 2.1 percent last month.
The OECD-method core price, excluding volatile energy and food costs, was up 1.9 percent. Enditem
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