ID :
210955
Tue, 10/04/2011 - 06:14
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/210955
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea's consumer prices grow 4.3 pct in Sept.
(ATTN: ADDS finance ministry official's comments in 5th, 12th paras)
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea's consumer prices grew at a slower pace in September than a month earlier, but remained above the government's annual inflation target, a report showed Tuesday.
According to the report by Statistics Korea, the country's consumer price index rose 4.3 percent last month from a year earlier, sharply slowing from the 5.3 percent on-year gain in August, the largest jump in three years.
The September figure marked the ninth straight month that the consumer price hike has exceeded the government's annual inflation target of 4 percent for this year.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food costs, rose 3.9 percent from a year earlier, slightly down from 4 percent tallied in August, the report showed.
"Thanks to declining demand after the Chuseok holiday and improved climate conditions, demand for vegetables and fruits stabilized, helping slow the pace of price hikes," said Choi Sang-mok, the director general of the finance ministry's economic policy bureau.
The fresh food price index dropped 7.4 percent on-year last month, leading the slowing price growth, the report showed. In particular, vegetable prices fell 19.6 percent from a year earlier.
Prices for manufactured products remained high due to expensive oil costs, rising 7.7 percent last month from a year earlier. Prices in the service sector, including home rental fees, also increased 2.8 percent over the same period, the report showed.
The data came as the government struggles to rein in stubbornly high inflation at a time when the nation's economy is also faced with toughening conditions at home and abroad.
The government has been placing its top policy priority on taming inflation since the beginning of this year. Rising food and oil prices, however, prompted the government to raise its annual inflation target for this year from 3 percent to 4 percent last June.
Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told a meeting last week that he will closely watch products whose prices could be influenced by fluctuating foreign exchange rates, the latest move in a series of actions aimed at easing mounting inflationary pressure.
The won lost nearly 10 percent against the U.S. dollar last month. A weak local currency could put upward pressure on inflation as it makes import prices more expensive.
"The government sees that the pace of price growth appears to be moderating but uncertainties such as exchange rates still remain in place," said Choi of the finance ministry.
Some experts worry that the nation is facing growing risks of stagflation amid the worldwide economic slowdown and high inflation at home.
According to earlier government data, the nation's industrial output, a major gauge of economic activities, shrank for the second straight month in August from July amid uncertainties surrounding the global market situations.
Last month, the Bank of Korea froze the benchmark rate at 3.25 percent for the third straight month as bleaker global economic outlooks outweighed concerns about persisting inflation. The central bank is scheduled to hold its rate decision meeting on Oct. 13.
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea's consumer prices grew at a slower pace in September than a month earlier, but remained above the government's annual inflation target, a report showed Tuesday.
According to the report by Statistics Korea, the country's consumer price index rose 4.3 percent last month from a year earlier, sharply slowing from the 5.3 percent on-year gain in August, the largest jump in three years.
The September figure marked the ninth straight month that the consumer price hike has exceeded the government's annual inflation target of 4 percent for this year.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food costs, rose 3.9 percent from a year earlier, slightly down from 4 percent tallied in August, the report showed.
"Thanks to declining demand after the Chuseok holiday and improved climate conditions, demand for vegetables and fruits stabilized, helping slow the pace of price hikes," said Choi Sang-mok, the director general of the finance ministry's economic policy bureau.
The fresh food price index dropped 7.4 percent on-year last month, leading the slowing price growth, the report showed. In particular, vegetable prices fell 19.6 percent from a year earlier.
Prices for manufactured products remained high due to expensive oil costs, rising 7.7 percent last month from a year earlier. Prices in the service sector, including home rental fees, also increased 2.8 percent over the same period, the report showed.
The data came as the government struggles to rein in stubbornly high inflation at a time when the nation's economy is also faced with toughening conditions at home and abroad.
The government has been placing its top policy priority on taming inflation since the beginning of this year. Rising food and oil prices, however, prompted the government to raise its annual inflation target for this year from 3 percent to 4 percent last June.
Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told a meeting last week that he will closely watch products whose prices could be influenced by fluctuating foreign exchange rates, the latest move in a series of actions aimed at easing mounting inflationary pressure.
The won lost nearly 10 percent against the U.S. dollar last month. A weak local currency could put upward pressure on inflation as it makes import prices more expensive.
"The government sees that the pace of price growth appears to be moderating but uncertainties such as exchange rates still remain in place," said Choi of the finance ministry.
Some experts worry that the nation is facing growing risks of stagflation amid the worldwide economic slowdown and high inflation at home.
According to earlier government data, the nation's industrial output, a major gauge of economic activities, shrank for the second straight month in August from July amid uncertainties surrounding the global market situations.
Last month, the Bank of Korea froze the benchmark rate at 3.25 percent for the third straight month as bleaker global economic outlooks outweighed concerns about persisting inflation. The central bank is scheduled to hold its rate decision meeting on Oct. 13.
