Prices of clothes, shoes increase at fastest pace in 31 yrs in May

Economy 14:07 June 06, 2023

SEOUL, June 6 (Yonhap) -- Prices of clothes and shoes in South Korea rose at the fastest pace in 31 years last month as a growing number of people enjoyed outdoor activities after the yearslong pandemic, government data showed Tuesday.

The price index for clothing and shoes rose 8 percent in May from a year ago, marking the fastest on-year growth since May 1992, when it reached 8.3 percent, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

Inflation of such semi-durable goods has been on a steady increase over the past year, having risen to around 5 percent in November and 6 percent in March from 1.8 percent in April last year.

In particular, prices of gloves jumped 18.1 percent in May, those of T-shirts gained 14.3 percent and those of dresses rose 13.7 percent last month.

The growth in prices of garments and shoes is much higher than that of the country's consumer price index, which rose a seven-month low of 3.3 percent last month.

Monthly inflation in Asia's fourth-largest economy peaked at 6.3 percent in July last year and has been on a steady decline since then.

South Korea has been returning to pre-pandemic normalcy since the beginning of this year, lifting nearly all COVID-19 restrictions, including indoor mask mandates, from June.