South Korea's Sept inflation slows but still above central bank's target for sixth month

[SEOUL] South Korea's consumer inflation eased slightly in September but continued to stay above the central bank's 2 per cent target for a sixth straight month, driven by higher costs of fresh food, oil products, housing rentals and other services.

September consumer prices rose 2.5 per cent from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, inching down from a 2.6 per cent rise clocked in August but beating a 2.3 per cent increase tipped in a Reuters survey.

Month-on-month inflation rose 0.5 per cent, also beating a forecast of a 0.3 per cent rise. It rose 0.6 per cent in August.

Core inflation rose 1.5 per cent year-on-year, marking the fastest growth since October 2017 and up from August's 1.3 per cent rise.

REUTERS