Consumer prices grow at slower pace for 2nd month in Sept.

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices grew at a slower pace on-year for the second consecutive month in September, data showed Wednesday, in yet another sign that inflation may have peaked.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 5.6 percent last month from a year earlier, slowing from a 5.7 percent rise in August, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

In July, consumer prices increased at the fastest pace in almost 24 years at 6.3 percent.

Consumer prices, meanwhile, continued to rise above 2 percent -- the central bank's inflation target over the medium term -- for the 18th straight month in September.

The slower growth came as global oil prices continued to lose ground.

Prices of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, stood at US$90.95 per barrel on average in September, down 5.68 percent from the previous month, according to the Korea National Oil Corp. The oil prices were still up 18.32 percent from a year ago.

In August, South Korea's central bank revised its inflation outlook for 2022 from the previous 4.6 percent to 5.2 percent, which is the highest projection since it introduced the inflation target system in 1998.

colin@yna.co.kr
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