S. Korea's inflation growth hits nearly 24-year high in June on fuel costs

Industry 08:01 July 05, 2022

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest clip in nearly 24 years in June due to high energy and food costs, and a rebound in demand from the pandemic, data showed Tuesday.

Consumer prices soared 6 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 5.4 percent on-year spike in May, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

It marked the sharpest on-year increase since November 1998, when consumer inflation soared 6.8 percent. Inflation growth also exceeded 6 percent for the first time in almost 24 years.

Consumer prices rose above 2 percent -- the central bank's inflation target over the medium term -- for the 15th straight month in June.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and oil prices, climbed 3.9 percent on-year last month.

The statistics agency said if the current trend continues, annual inflation could exceed the 4.7 percent forecast by the finance ministry.

South Korea faces growing inflationary pressure as crude oil and other commodity prices rose due to the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine, and global supply disruptions. Demand-pull inflation has also increased amid the economic recovery.