South Korea Inflation Rate

Last Release

Oct 31, 2024

Actual

1.3

Units In

1.6

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Dec 02, 2024

Time to Release

26 Days 21 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
32.5 Oct 1980	-0.4 Sep 2019	6.83 %	1966-2024	Statistics Korea

In South Korea, the most important categories in the consumer price index are Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (17 percent of total weight) and Food and non-alcoholic beverages (13.6 percent of total weight). Others include Restaurants and hotels (12 percent); Education (11.4 percent); Transportation (10.9 percent); Health (7.3 percent); and Clothing and footwear (6.2 percent). The components with the least weight are Communication at 5.8 percent; Miscellaneous goods and services at 5.4 percent; Recreation and culture at 5.3 percent; Furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance at 3.8 percent; and Alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 1.24 percent.

Latest Updates

The annual inflation rate in South Korea fell to 1.3% in October 2024 from 1.6% in September, slowing for the fourth straight month and coming in below market expectations of 1.4%. The latest figure was also the lowest reading since January 2021 and marked the seventh consecutive month that price growth stayed below 3%. This reinforces expectations that the Bank of Korea could cut interest rates again after kicking off its easing cycle in October, with the next reduction likely to be brought forward as early as January. The BOK slashed its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.25% last month, marking the first reduction since May 2020.