Consumer prices rise over 6% for two months running

The inflation rate of consumer goods hovered at 6.3 percent last month, exceeding the mark of 6 percent for two months in a row to reach a 24-year high. Notably, the prices of eating out rose 8.4 percent from last year on the back of the surge in international crop prices, shooting to a record high in about 30 years. Along with vegetable whose prices have jumped over 20 percent, Korea’s dining prices are nearing the red line.

According to the consumer prices trend published by Statistics Korea on Tuesday, the consumer price index rose by 6.3 percent year-on-year to stand at 108.74 (which was at 100 in 2020). This marks the steepest hike in 24 years since November 1998 (6.8 percent) when the country was hit by a foreign reserve crisis. The prices of agricultural produce, petroproducts, utility cost, eating out went up en masse, fueling the uptick of overall consumer goods prices. The share of manufactured goods and personal services took up 4.96 percentage points out of the 6.3 percent rise.

In particular, the prices of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products rose by 7.1 percent year-on-year, jumping further from June (4.8 percent), owing to the heatwave and heavy rain from last month. The inflation rate of petroproducts stood at 35.1 percent, which was slightly alleviated from last month at 39.6 percent yet still at a high level. The prices of dining out shot up by 8.4 percent last month, owing to the surge in commodity prices, reaching an all-time high in 29 years and nine months since October 1992 (8.8 percent). This subsequently pushed up the prices of personal services by 6.0 percent in which eat out costs are included. The consumer price index for living necessities which consist of 144 items affecting consumers the most jumped by 7.9 percent last month, recording the biggest increase since November 1998 (10.4 percent).


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