South Korea's inflation rate accelerated less than expected in August, but core prices rose the fastest in more than three years, which strengthened the reasons for the Bank of Korea to maintain an austerity policy. According to data released by Korea's statistics department on Wednesday, the consumer price index rose 3.1% year on year in August, up from 2.8% in July. The median estimate in the Bloomberg economists' survey was a 3.2% increase. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core inflation rate accelerated to 3.4% from 2.6% in July, the fastest growth rate since May 2023. This indicates that in addition to the impact of rising energy costs, potential price pressures persist. These data may cause the Bank of Korea to be wary of the inflation issue, although the overall inflation rate is affected by some one-off factors. The Ministry of Finance estimates that discounts on mobile phone charges for the same period last year had an impact on inflation data.

South Korea's inflation rate accelerated less than expected in August, but core prices rose the fastest in more than three years, which strengthened the reasons for the Bank of Korea to maintain an austerity policy. According to data released by Korea's statistics department on Wednesday, the consumer price index rose 3.1% year on year in August, up from 2.8% in July. The median estimate in the Bloomberg economists' survey was a 3.2% increase. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core inflation rate accelerated to 3.4% from 2.6% in July, the fastest growth rate since May 2023. This indicates that in addition to the impact of rising energy costs, potential price pressures persist. These data may cause the Bank of Korea to be wary of the inflation issue, although the overall inflation rate is affected by some one-off factors. The Ministry of Finance estimates that discounts on mobile phone charges for the same period last year had an impact on inflation data.