SEOUL- South Korea’s inflation eased for the first time in four months in November, bringing relief to policymakers worried about persistent inflation risks as they plan to keep their restrictive monetary policy in place for longer.
The Consumer Price Index stood 3.3 percent higher than the same month the year before, after a rise of 3.8 percent in October, official data showed on Tuesday, slower than a median 3.7 percent rise tipped in a Reuters Survey.
The index fell 0.6 percent on a monthly basis, marking its first fall since November 2022 and the sharpest drop since October 2020.
A core measure that excludes volatile components including fuel and food eased to 3.0 percent in November, the slowest rise since March 2022.
“Compared to core inflation in the US and Europe that seem to be still in the 4 percent to 5 percent range, (South Korea’s core inflation) seems to be far more stable,” said Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho at a policy meeting in Seoul. “Considering this, we see inflation stabilizing in a steady manner going forward, unless we face some additional external shocks.”
The mild slowdown comes mainly from an easing in prices of fresh food items as well as fuel prices.
