October Consumer Prices Up 2.8%... Processed Foods, Including Bread, Post Biggest Gain in 11 Months (Update)

The consumer price inflation rate stood at 2.8% in October, remaining in the 2% range for the second consecutive month. Prices of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products fell on favorable harvests, but prices of industrial products, including petroleum products and processed foods, rose sharply.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the “October Consumer Price Trends” report released on November 3 by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the consumer price index stood at 120.73 (2020=100), up 2.8% from a year earlier. After reaching 3.1% in August, consumer price inflation eased to 2.9% in September and fell by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month to 2.8% in October.

Industrial products rose 4.4%, leading the increase in prices. Petroleum products climbed 14.9%, adding 0.56 percentage point to overall inflation. Diesel and gasoline prices rose 19.7% and 11.6%, respectively. Processed foods also rose 2.9%, marking their largest increase in 11 months, since November last year (3.3%). Bread prices rose 5.9%, while instant foods climbed 12.4%. Recent increases in manufacturers’ prices and the end of holiday discount promotions in September were cited as factors behind the acceleration.

By contrast, prices of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products fell 1.7%. Livestock and fishery product prices rose, but vegetable prices plunged 11.2% as favorable weather conditions boosted shipments. Grain prices also fell 3.7%, due to the base effect from a sharp rise last year (21.8%) and recent direct-to-market shipments.

Personal services rose 3.3%, a slower pace than the 3.5% increase in the previous month. Dining-out prices rose 2.9%, up from 2.5% in the previous month, as items such as sliced raw fish (5.9%) became more expensive amid changes in catch volumes following high summer temperatures. Insurance service fees and overseas group tour costs rose 13.4% and 11.5%, respectively. Among public services, international airfares rose 20.7%.

The living necessities price index, which reflects consumers’ perceived inflation, rose 0.1% from the previous month and 2.6% from the same month a year earlier. The fresh food price index, which is affected by seasonal and weather conditions, fell 6.2% year over year. The OECD-defined core inflation measure excluding food and energy rose 2.8% year over year, as did the index excluding agricultural products and petroleum products.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.