South Korea’s consumer prices slowed to the lowest level in 3 1/2 years in September, falling below 2 percent for the first time since early 2021, data showed Wednesday.
Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 1.6 percent on-year last month, compared with a 2 percent on-year increase a month earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.
September’s figure marked the lowest level since February 2021, when consumer prices grew 1.4 percent, according to South Korea’s News Agency (Yonhap).
The figure last came to the 1 percent range in March 2021 by logging 1.9 percent.
The Korean government has said that the country is projected to reach the target rate of 2 percent by around the end of 2024, and it saw consumer inflation stay below 3 percent for the sixth consecutive month through September.
The finance ministry expects this year’s prices to rise 2.6 percent.
Source: Qatar News Agency