The consumer price index rose 2.6% in April. It was the biggest increase in 1 year and 9 months since July 2024 (2.6%). As the fallout from the "Middle East war" took full effect, petroleum products surged nearly 22% from a year earlier. Prices of petroleum products rose the most in 3 years and 9 months since the "Russia-Ukraine war" in 2022.
According to the "April consumer price trends" that the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) released on the 6th, last month's consumer price index was 119.37 (2020=100), up 2.6% from a year earlier. The recent pace of price increases had been easing since October last year, but it expanded for the second straight month after March (2.2%), when the Middle East war began.
Prices of petroleum products jumped 21.9% from a year earlier. This was the largest increase in 3 years and 9 months since July 2022 (35.2%). Specifically, gasoline, diesel, and kerosene rose 21.1%, 30.8%, and 18.7%, respectively. Gasoline and diesel hit the highest in 3 years and 9 months, and kerosene in 3 years and 2 months.
It is interpreted that most of the April price gains over March were led by increases in petroleum product prices. Of the 2.6% April inflation rate, petroleum products contributed 0.84%. This was an expansion of 0.45 percentage point (p) from the previous month's petroleum contribution (0.39%), similar to the overall consumer price increase this month (0.4%p).
Including petroleum products, industrial goods rose 3.8% from a year earlier. Another item that makes up industrial goods, processed foods, rose only 1%. Lee Doo-won, Deputy Director General for Economic Trend Statistics at the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS), said, "As the pass-through of factory-gate price cuts for processed foods gradually widened, the increase in processed food prices narrowed."
Among items of a different nature than industrial goods, agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products fell 0.5%. As climate conditions improved, prices of agricultural products and vegetables fell 5.2% and 12.6%, respectively. Electricity, gas, and water rose 0.2%.
Services—meaning personal services such as rent, public services, and dining out—rose 2.4%. Public services increased 1.4%, and personal services rose 3.2%. The Deputy Director General said, "For public services, international airfares rose due to higher fuel surcharges; for personal services, there were effects from higher prices for overseas group tour packages, engine oil changes, and auto repair costs stemming from the rise in petroleum products."
The living cost index, which reflects perceived prices based on frequently purchased items, rose 2.9%, widening the increase by 0.6 percentage point from the previous month (2.3%). The fresh food index, which reflects "table prices," fell 6.1%, marking a decline in the 6% range for the second month after March (-6.6%).
Core inflation excluding the impact of oil prices showed little change. The index excluding food and energy, a core inflation gauge used by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), rose 2.2%, the same as the previous month. Another core inflation gauge, the index excluding agricultural products and petroleum products, rose 2.2%, narrowing from the previous month (2.3%).