S. Korea's core inflation grows faster than OECD average: data

SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's core inflation in May grew at a faster pace than the average price hike among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Wednesday. According to the data offered by the Paris-based organization, South Korea's core inflation rose 2.8 percent in May from a year earlier. That is higher than the OECD average of 1.7 percent. The OECD measures core inflation by excluding food, agricultural, fishery and livestock products along with energy prices, unlike the method used by Korea in which only farm product and oil prices are excluded. Based on the OECD surveys, Korea's core inflation grew at the seventh-fastest pace among member countries. Turkey topped the list with a 4.5 percent gain, followed by Britain, Israel, New Zealand, Slovakia and Mexico, the data showed. Korea's consumer prices also grew at a relatively faster clip than other countries. Its consumer prices jumped 4.1 percent in May from a year earlier, the sixth-fastest increase among OECD countries. Earlier this month, Seoul announced the nation's latest inflation figures, which showed its consumer prices rose 4.4 percent in June from a year earlier, quickening from a 4.1 percent gain in the previous month. Its June core inflation also gained 3.7 percent from a year earlier, the highest jump since May 2009. The government recently revised upward its annual inflation target for the year to 4 percent from 3 percent due to the higher-than-expected food and oil prices.