Inflation Slows to 2.4% in June

The inflation rate held steady in the two-percent range for the third consecutive month in June.

According to Statistics Korea on Tuesday, the country’s consumer price index stood at 113-point-84 in June, up two-point-four percent from a year earlier.

This marks the lowest rate in eleven months, matching July of last year when it also stood at 2.4 percent.

The inflation rate has been steadily slowing, dropping below three percent to two-point-nine percent in April, continuing to decelerate to two-point-seven percent in May, and two-point-four percent in June, marking three consecutive months of decline.

Commodity prices rose two-point-seven percent on-year, while prices of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products jumped six-point-five percent. However, prices of apples and pears soared by over 60 percent and nearly 140 percent, respectively. 

Services prices also gained two-point-two percent in June from a year earlier. 

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and oil prices, rose two-point-two percent year-on-year.