(LEAD) Korea's consumer prices up 1.1 pct on-year in Feb.

All News 08:46 March 03, 2020

(ATTN: UPDATES with details in paras 3, 7-8)

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's headline inflation rose 1.1 percent in February from a year earlier, marking an increase of over 1 percent for the second straight month, the statistics agency said Tuesday.

The inflation rate in Asia's fourth-largest economy increased 1.5 percent in January, the highest in 14 months, Statistics Korea said.

South Korea's headline inflation was below 1 percent every month in 2019.

Core inflation, which excludes agricultural and petroleum products, increased 0.6 percent from a year earlier.

Utility prices rose 1.6 percent on-year in February, while the prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products went up 0.3 percent, the data showed.

Last year, Korea's consumer prices climbed 0.4 percent on-year, the slowest growth since 1965.

The statistics agency said the new coronavirus outbreak was having a limited impact on some sectors. International airfares fell 4.2 percent in February from a month earlier due to a sharp decline in air travel demand over the coronavirus outbreak.

The virus known as COVID-19 has killed 28 people and infected more than 4,300 people in South Korea.

Flower prices declined 11.8 percent in February from a month earlier due to the cancellation of commencement ceremonies over the coronavirus outbreak, according to the statistics agency.