Inflation Rate Stays in 0% Range... Jeonse Prices Rise at Largest Rate in 20 Months (Comprehensive)

Statistics Korea, October Consumer Price Trends

Jeonse Price Increase Rate 0.5% in September → 0.6% in October
Agricultural, Livestock, and Fishery Products Up 13.3%... Fresh Vegetables Up 20.3%

Consumer Prices Up 0.1%... "Impact of Reduced Communication Fees"
Core Inflation Down 0.3%... Lowest in 20 Years and 11 Months

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The consumer price inflation rate in October returned to the 0% range. In particular, core inflation fell by 0.3%, marking the lowest level in about 21 years. On the other hand, Jeonse prices surged, showing the highest increase rate in 20 months due to the recent Jeonse crisis.

According to the October consumer price trend announced by Statistics Korea on the 3rd, the consumer price index was 105.61 (2015=100), up 0.1% compared to the same month last year. It fell by 0.9 percentage points from 1.0% in the previous month, returning to a 0% range increase rate.

The agricultural products and petroleum excluded index, which is the core inflation rate excluding seasonal factors or temporary shocks, rose only 0.1% compared to the same month last year. The food and energy excluded index (core inflation), which is calculated based on 317 items excluding food and energy-related items according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standards, fell by 0.3% compared to the same month last year. This is the lowest level in 20 years and 11 months since November 1999 (-0.1%).

Among a total of 460 items, the living cost index, which is calculated based on 141 items with high purchase frequency and expenditure share and is sensitive to price changes, decreased by 0.7% compared to the same month last year. However, food among these rose by 4.7% compared to the same month last year. In particular, the fresh food index jumped 19.9% compared to one year ago. Although the increase rate slowed down compared to September (21.5%), it still shows a sharp rise. Fresh vegetables and fresh fruits rose by 20.3% and 28.9%, respectively, compared to the same month last year. Fresh fishery products increased by 6.3%.

Service prices fell by 0.8% compared to the same month last year, mainly because public services dropped by 6.6%. Housing costs increased. Rent rose by 0.5%. In particular, the Jeonse price increase rate grew from 0.5% in September to 0.6% in October. This is the highest increase rate in 20 months since February last year (0.6%). Monthly rent also rose by 0.3% in October following September. This is the largest increase since November 2016 (0.4%).