This year's consumer price inflation came in at 2.1%, the lowest in five years. The consumer price inflation rate calculated for this month alone was 2.3%, down 0.1 percentage point (p) from the previous month.
According to the "December and annual consumer price trends" that the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) released on the 31st, this year's consumer price index was 116.61 (2020=100), up 2.1% from the previous year (114.18). It is the lowest rate of increase in five years since 2020 (0.5%). During this period, the annual consumer price index ranged from 2.3% to 5.1%. The living price index, which is composed mainly of frequently purchased items and is close to perceived inflation, rose 2.4% this year. This too is the lowest rate of increase in five years since 2020.
Lee Doo-won, Deputy Director General for Economic Trend Statistics at the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS), said, "In 2022 and 2023, prices of processed foods and petroleum products rose sharply, and international raw material prices also climbed, pushing up electricity, water and gas prices," adding, "This year, those increases narrowed." In fact, since 2020, prices of processed foods and petroleum products rose 7.8% and 22.2% year over year, respectively, but the increases slowed to 3.6% and 2.4% this year. Over the same period, electricity, water and gas prices recorded increases in the 20% range but fell to 1.9% this year.
Addressing criticism that there is a gap between consumer-perceived prices and official figures, the Deputy Director General said, "The consumer price is the average price of 450 items, so while the perceived inflation rate feels high, the official figure can come out lower," adding, "The prices people feel are influenced by individual items, so (perceived prices) can feel high."
This month's consumer price index was 117.57 (2020=100), up 2.3% from a year earlier. The monthly consumer price index came in at 1.7% in Aug. and has been in the 2% range for four straight months since Sep. Agricultural, livestock and fisheries products rose 4.1%, lifting overall prices by 0.32 percentage point (p). By specific item, green onions (10.4%), radishes (8.7%) and napa cabbage (7.3%) rose sharply.
This month, petroleum product prices rose 6.1%, the biggest increase since Feb. this year (6.3%). During this period, diesel rose 10.8% and gasoline 5.7%. Because petroleum is an imported good, its price moves with the won-dollar exchange rate; as the average exchange rate rose from 1,457 won to 1,472 won during this period, petroleum product prices also increased.