Korea's inflation slows to four-year low at 2.3% in 2024

Customers shop for fresh fruits at a discount mart in Seoul on May 2. [YONHAP]

 
Korea’s annual headline inflation this year slowed to a four-year low of 2.3 percent, data showed Tuesday.
 
The latest yearly figure marks a deceleration from a 5.1 percent jump in 2022 and a 3.6 percent increase last year.
 

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According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, rose 2.3 percent in 2024, the softest pace of growth since 2020, when the headline inflation stood at 0.5 percent.
 
The December reading rose 1.9 percent on year, following the previous month’s 1.5 percent gain.
 
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, came at 2.2 percent.  
 
The cost of living index, which tracks price changes for 144 frequently purchased consumer goods and services, rose 2.7 percent.
 
Prices of fresh food products jumped sharply by 9.8 percent on year, the steepest growth since 2010, when the figure came at 21.3 percent.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]