South Korea’s headline inflation eased for a second consecutive month in September but still remained above the central bank’s target.
The benchmark consumer-price index gained 5.6% from a year earlier after the prior month’s 5.7% rise, said the statistical office Wednesday.
The latest reading was a tad below a median market forecast of a 5.7% increase for September but well above the central bank’s targeted 2%.
Compared with the prior month, the index gained 0.3% in September, slower than the market expectations for a 0.4% rise. That followed the prior month’s 0.1% fall.
Core CPI, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, rose 4.1% from a year earlier and remained unchanged from a month ago in September following the gains of 4.0% and 0.3%, respectively, in August.
The Bank of Korea in August revised up its inflation forecast to 5.2% for 2022 and raised its policy rate by 25 basis points following an outsized 50-basis-point increase in July to tame inflation.
The central bank signals further policy tightening in the coming months to rein in price growth.
Inflation averaged 2.5% in 2021 and 0.5% in 2020 in South Korea.
