The consumer price index stood at 104.71 in May, down 0.3 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the first decline in eight months since September last year.
The consumer price inflation stayed below 1 percent during the entire year of 2019, before rising above 1 percent from January to March this year. The headline inflation fell below 1 percent in April.
Oil product price plunged 18.7 percent in May from a year earlier amid cheaper crude oil.
Price for industrial products slipped 2.0 percent, but price for agricultural, livestock and fishery products gained 3.1 percent last month.
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