Consumer Prices Rise 2.2%... Highest in Five Months (Update)

Consumer Price Inflation Returns to 2% Range in June
Processed Food and Seafood Prices See Biggest Rise in Five Months

Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

Last month, the consumer price inflation rate returned to the 2% range after two months. Due to issues in the Middle East, petroleum product prices shifted back to an upward trend, and the prices of key food items such as dining out, processed foods, and seafood continued to soar. The increase was the largest in five months.

According to the "June Consumer Price Trends" released by Statistics Korea on the 2nd, the consumer price index last month rose by 2.2% compared to a year earlier.

Previously, last month's consumer price inflation rate recorded 1.9%, dropping to the 1% range for the first time in five months since December last year (1.9%), but it has now returned to the 2% range. This is the largest increase in five months since January this year (2.2%).

Last month, agricultural product prices fell by 1.8% compared to a year earlier, but livestock and seafood prices rose by 4.3% and 7.4%, respectively, driving the overall increase in consumer prices.

By item, prices of carrots (-30.6%), pears (-25.2%), green onions (-18.5%), and apples (-12.6%) fell significantly, while mackerel (16.1%), eggs (6.0%), pork (4.4%), and domestic beef (3.3%) increased.

Petroleum products also rose by 0.3%, marking a return to an upward trend. In particular, processed foods jumped by 4.6%, recording the largest increase in 19 months since November 2023 (5.1%). This contributed 0.39 percentage points to the overall price increase.

Among specific items, tea recorded the highest increase at 20.7%, followed by kimchi (14.2%), liquefied natural gas for automobiles (LPG, 10.6%), ham and bacon (8.1%), and bread (6.4%).

Service prices rose by 2.4% compared to a year earlier. Personal services increased by 3.3%, contributing 1.13 percentage points to the overall price increase. Dining-out personal services rose by 3.1% and non-dining-out personal services by 3.5%, contributing 0.44 percentage points and 0.69 percentage points, respectively, to the overall price increase.

Excluding food and energy prices, which are highly volatile, the core inflation index?which reflects the overall price level?rose by 2.0%, the same as the previous month (2.0%).