By Kwanwoo Jun
South Korea’s headline inflation accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace in September.
The benchmark consumer-price index gained 3.7% from a year earlier in September, following the prior month’s 3.4% increase, the country’s statistics office said Thursday.
That beat the median market forecast of 3.4% for September, keeping inflation further above the central bank’s 2.0% annual target.
The Bank of Korea said in its latest forecast in August that inflation could start to stabilize toward the end of 2023 despite temporary upticks in the near term in the country.
The central bank expects inflation to average 3.5% in 2023 and 2.4% in 2024.
Compared with the prior month, the index gained 0.6% in September after a 1.0% rise in August.
Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.3% from a year ago and fell 0.1% from a month earlier in September. That compared with the gains of 3.3% and 0.3%, respectively, in August.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at [email protected]
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