S.Korea Consumer Prices Rise 2.1% in July

South Korea’s consumer prices rose by more than 2% for the second consecutive month in July, mainly driven by higher costs of industrial goods and services, government data showed Tuesday.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.1% from a year earlier last month, according to the data from Statistics Korea, cited by Yonhap News Agency.

Inflation had remained above the Bank of Korea’s 2% target for four consecutive months through April before slowing to 1.9% in May. It then edged up to 2.2% in June.

The statistics agency said the July gain was mainly due to the continued depreciation of the South Korean won, which pushed up import prices for industrial goods. A steady increase in service prices also added to inflationary pressure.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, went up 2% in July, matching the previous month’s increase

Quoted from Qna Agency with modification.