South Korea's consumer price inflation hit the highest in 64 months as heavy rain and heat wave sharply pulled up vegetable prices, a government report showed Friday.
Consumer prices gained 2.6 percent in August from a year earlier, the highest since April 2012, according to Statistics Korea.
The torrential rain and the sweltering heat during the summer season led to a 22.5 percent hike in vegetable prices last month. It raised the overall headline inflation by 0.37 percentage points.
The rising rate of the vegetable prices was the highest since November last year. Daikon prices surged 71.4 percent last month, leading the more expensive vegetables.
Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products advanced 12.2 percent in August from a year ago, raising the overall inflation by 0.96 percentage points.
Oil product prices rose at a faster pace of 3.6 percent last month, after adding 0.5 percent in the previous month.
Prices for industrial products, which include oil products, climbed 1 percent in August, pulling up the inflation by 0.31 percentage points.
Prices for electricity, tap water and natural gas jumped 8 percent due to a so-called low base effect. The government temporarily cut the electricity charges during last year's summer season, and normalized the charges this year.
Services prices, which involve private and public services costs as well as house rent, rose 1.8 percent in August. It raised the overall inflation by 1.04 percentage points.
The so-called livelihood price index, which measures living costs and prices for daily necessities, gained 3.7 percent on higher vegetable prices. It was the fastest increase since December 2011.
Food costs picked up 5.9 percent, posting the highest in almost six years. Costs for non-food items grew 2.5 percent.
The fresh food index, which measures prices for fresh fruits and vegetables, soared 18.3 percent last month, marking the highest in over six years. Fresh vegetable prices jumped 22.8 percent, with price for fresh fruits posting a double-digit gain.
Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile agricultural and oil products, rose 1.8 percent in August from a year earlier, making no change from the previous month.
The OECD-method core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy, gained 1.4 percent.
The higher consumer price inflation was forecast to add pressure on the country's central bank to hike its benchmark interest rate, which has stayed at a record low for 14 straight months.
On Wednesday, the Bank of Korea (BOK) froze its policy rate at an all-time low of 1.25 percent amid rising geopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula.
Tensions ran high on the peninsula after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launch on Tuesday of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that passed over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Market watchers expected the BOK to raise its policy rate early next year as expectations got low for the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark rate later this year.
Consumer prices gained 2.6 percent in August from a year earlier, the highest since April 2012, according to Statistics Korea.
The torrential rain and the sweltering heat during the summer season led to a 22.5 percent hike in vegetable prices last month. It raised the overall headline inflation by 0.37 percentage points.
The rising rate of the vegetable prices was the highest since November last year. Daikon prices surged 71.4 percent last month, leading the more expensive vegetables.
Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products advanced 12.2 percent in August from a year ago, raising the overall inflation by 0.96 percentage points.
Oil product prices rose at a faster pace of 3.6 percent last month, after adding 0.5 percent in the previous month.
Prices for industrial products, which include oil products, climbed 1 percent in August, pulling up the inflation by 0.31 percentage points.
Prices for electricity, tap water and natural gas jumped 8 percent due to a so-called low base effect. The government temporarily cut the electricity charges during last year's summer season, and normalized the charges this year.
Services prices, which involve private and public services costs as well as house rent, rose 1.8 percent in August. It raised the overall inflation by 1.04 percentage points.
The so-called livelihood price index, which measures living costs and prices for daily necessities, gained 3.7 percent on higher vegetable prices. It was the fastest increase since December 2011.
Food costs picked up 5.9 percent, posting the highest in almost six years. Costs for non-food items grew 2.5 percent.
The fresh food index, which measures prices for fresh fruits and vegetables, soared 18.3 percent last month, marking the highest in over six years. Fresh vegetable prices jumped 22.8 percent, with price for fresh fruits posting a double-digit gain.
Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile agricultural and oil products, rose 1.8 percent in August from a year earlier, making no change from the previous month.
The OECD-method core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy, gained 1.4 percent.
The higher consumer price inflation was forecast to add pressure on the country's central bank to hike its benchmark interest rate, which has stayed at a record low for 14 straight months.
On Wednesday, the Bank of Korea (BOK) froze its policy rate at an all-time low of 1.25 percent amid rising geopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula.
Tensions ran high on the peninsula after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launch on Tuesday of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that passed over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Market watchers expected the BOK to raise its policy rate early next year as expectations got low for the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark rate later this year.
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