Consumer inflation to rise back to around 2 pc in Sep: BOK

Seoul, Sep 2 (IANS) Consumer inflation is projected to rebound to around 2 per cent in September as the temporary factors behind last month's slowdown dissipate, the central bank here said on Tuesday.

Bank of Korea (BOK) Deputy Governor Kim Woong made the assessment during a meeting to review inflationary trends, as government data showed that consumer prices gained 1.7 percent from a year earlier in August, logging the slowest growth in nine months, reports Yonhap news agency.

"Though heavy rains and heat waves drove up prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products, mobile phone charges fell sharply, pulling down last month's inflation by 0.6 percentage point," Kim said.

"Consumer prices are expected to rise to around 2 percent again this month, as such temporary downward factors disappear. Inflation is expected to stay around 2 percent for the time being, given weak demand and stable global oil prices," he added.

South Korea's leading wireless carrier SK Telecom provided a 50 percent discount on August bills for its over 20 million users in response to a data breach incident.

The BOK recently revised up its forecast for this year's consumer inflation to 2 percent from its previous projection of 1.9 percent.

Meanwhile, South Korea's consumer prices grew by less than 2 percent in August, marking the slowest pace of growth in nine months, largely due to a sharp drop in telecommunication fees.

Inflation had remained above the Bank of Korea's 2 percent target for four consecutive months through April before slowing to 1.9 percent in May. It then climbed again, staying above 2 percent in both June and July.

It also marks the slowest growth since November 2024, when the comparative figure grew by 1.5 percent on-year.

In response to a data breach in April, the country's largest wireless carrier SK Telecom provided a 50 percent discount on August bills for its over 20 million users. As a result, public service fees, including telecom charges, fell 3.6 percent on-year, pulling down overall inflation by 0.42 percentage point.

—IANS

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