Korea: Inflation ticks down in July
Consumer prices fell 0.3% over the prior month in July, extending June’s 0.2% decrease. Lower prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, as well as communication and health drove the decline. Conversely, recreation and culture prices rose notably in the month.
Inflation weakened to 0.6% in July from 0.7% in June, moving further below the Bank of Korea’s 2.0% target. On the other hand, core inflation, which excludes fresh food and energy prices, edged up to 1.0% from 0.9% in June, while annual average inflation was stable at 1.1%.