Inflation in South Korea came in at 3.7 percent in April, the lowest in 14 months. The figure was down from 4.2 percent in March, according to Statistics Korea. It was the first time inflation fell below 4 percent since February last year. Inflation peaked at 6.3 percent last July.
Electricity, gas, water and service prices soared, while oil prices fell. On month, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.2 percent. A slow price growth for agricultural goods and oil contributed to lower inflation, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Vegetable prices jumped 7.1 percent on year. By category, broccoli soared 28 percent, cabbage by 13.5 percent and potatoes by 12.5 percent. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, remained strong at 4.6 percent in March but was down slightly from 4.8 percent a month earlier. Inflation is projected to decline steadily until June.
Source: koreajoongangdaily.joins.com
