South Korea's annual inflation rate fell to 0.5 percent in February of 2019 from 0.8 percent in the previous month, matching market expectations. It was the lowest inflation rate since August 2016, mainly due to a slowdown in cost of fresh food prices. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.4 percent, following a 0.1 percent fall in a month earlier, and compared to market consensus of a 0.5 percent gain. Inflation Rate in South Korea averaged 7.29 percent from 1966 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 32.50 percent in October of 1980 and a record low of 0.20 percent in February of 1999.

Inflation Rate in South Korea is expected to be 0.80 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Inflation Rate in South Korea to stand at 2.10 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the South Korea Inflation Rate is projected to trend around 2.10 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.

South Korea Inflation Rate
width
height
 Preview
Forecast Data Chart
Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.

The Trading Economics Application Programming Interface (API) provides direct access to our data. It allows API clients to download millions of rows of historical data, to query our real-time economic calendar, subscribe to updates and receive quotes for currencies, commodities, stocks and bonds.

API Features Documentation Interested? Click here to contact us

Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2018-12-03 11:00 PM Inflation Rate YoY 2.0% 2% 2.2% 2.1%
2018-12-30 11:00 PM Inflation Rate YoY 1.3% 2.0% 1.7% 1.7%
2019-01-31 11:00 PM Inflation Rate YoY 0.8% 1.3% 1.3% 1.6%
2019-03-04 11:00 PM Inflation Rate YoY 0.5% 0.8% 0.5% 0.7%
2019-04-01 11:00 PM Inflation Rate YoY 0.5% 0.8%
2019-05-01 11:00 PM Inflation Rate YoY 0.8%
2019-06-03 11:00 PM Inflation Rate YoY 0.5%



South Korea Inflation Rate Eases to 2-1/2-Year Low in February

South Korea's annual inflation rate slowed to 0.5 percent in February of 2019 from 0.8 percent in the previous month and matching market expectations. It was the lowest inflation rate since August 2016, amid a sharp slowdown in prices of food and a faster drop in cost of transport.

Year-on-year, prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 0.4 percent in February, slowing from a 2.6 percent rise in January and reaching the lowest food inflation in 13 months. Also, cost advanced at a softer rate for restaurant & hotels (2.8 percent vs 3 percent in January); education (1.4 percent vs 1.6 percent); recreation & culture (0.6 percent vs 1.1 percent); furnishing, household equipment & routine maintenance (3.2  percent vs 2.6 percent) and alcoholic beverages & tobacco (a flat reading vs 0.1 percent). In addition, prices fell further for transport (-4.2 percent vs -3.8 percent); and communication (-2.3 percent vs -1.5 percent). In contrast, cost of housing & utilities increased at a faster pace (1.5 percent vs 0.9 percent); and inflation was steady for miscellaneous goods & services (at 1.6 percent, the same as in January); and clothing and footwear (at 0.4 percent). Meantime, cost of health dropped less (-0.4 percent vs - 0.5 percent).

Core CPI, which excludes oil and agricultural products, increased by 1.3 percent year-on-year in February, after a 1.2 percent rise in January.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 0.4 percent in February, rebounding from a 0.1 percent decline in a month earlier but slightly below market consensus of a 0.5 percent increase. It marked the first monthly gain since September last year.


Statistics Korea l Rida Husna | rida@tradingeconomics.com
3/5/2019 12:54:37 PM


News

South Korea January Inflation Rate Lowest since 2016
South Korea's annual inflation rate fell to 0.8 percent in January of 2019 from 1.3 percent in the previous month and below market expectations of 1.3 percent. It was the lowest inflation rate since August 2016, as cost slowed for food and housing & utilities, while cost of transport declined at a faster rate.
Published on 2019-02-01

South Korea Inflation Rate at 9-Month Low of 1.3%
South Korea's annual inflation rate eased to 1.3 percent in December of 2018 from 2.0 percent in the previous month and below market expectations of 1.7 percent. It was the lowest inflation rate since March, amid a softer rise in cost of housing & utilities and food while transport prices declined.
Published on 2018-12-31

South Korea Inflation Rate Steady at 2% in November
South Korea's annual inflation came in at 2 percent in November of 2018, the same as in the previous month while market had expected of a 2.2 percent rise. It remained the highest inflation rate since September 2017, amid a faster rise in cost of housing & utilities while inflation slowed for food and transport.
Published on 2018-12-04

South Korea Inflation Rate Rises to 13-Month High of 2%
South Korea's annual inflation inched higher to 2 percent in October of 2018 from 1.9 percent in the previous three months and above market expectations of 1.7 percent. It was the highest inflation rate since September 2017, driven by faster rises in cost of food, housing and transport.
Published on 2018-11-01



South Korea Prices Last Previous Highest Lowest Unit
Inflation Rate 0.50 0.80 32.50 0.20 percent [+]
Inflation Rate Mom 0.40 -0.10 5.29 -2.52 percent [+]
Consumer Price Index CPI 104.69 104.24 105.60 2.63 Index Points [+]
Core Consumer Prices 105.47 104.97 105.47 9.61 Index Points [+]
Core Inflation Rate 1.30 1.20 30.50 -0.30 percent [+]
GDP Deflator 109.34 113.94 113.94 0.79 Index Points [+]
Producer Prices 103.81 103.71 108.97 5.08 Index Points [+]
Producer Prices Change -0.20 0.10 47.40 -4.70 percent [+]
Export Prices 82.97 82.95 168.80 14.92 Index Points [+]
Import Prices 86.56 84.98 116.89 4.81 Index Points [+]
Food Inflation 0.40 2.60 6434.02 -4.50 percent [+]
Inflation Expectations 2.30 2.30 4.60 2.30 percent [+]
Cpi Housing Utilities 103.15 101.96 103.15 31.61 Index Points [+]
CPI Transportation 98.71 98.91 112.54 27.63 Index Points [+]


South Korea Inflation Rate

In South Korea, the most important categories in the consumer price index are Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (17 percent of total weight) and Food and non-alcoholic beverages (13.6 percent of total weight). Others include Restaurants and hotels (12 percent); Education (11.4 percent); Transportation (10.9 percent); Health (7.3 percent); and Clothing and footwear (6.2 percent). The components with the least weight are Communication at 5.8 percent; Miscellaneous goods and services at 5.4 percent; Recreation and culture at 5.3 percent; Furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance at 3.8 percent; and Alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 1.24 percent. This page provides the latest reported value for - South Korea Inflation Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. South Korea Inflation Rate - actual data, historical chart and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2019.

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
0.50 0.80 32.50 0.20 1966 - 2019 percent Monthly
2015=100, NSA




Country Last Previous
Argentina 50.70 Feb/19
Australia 1.80 Dec/18
Brazil 3.89 Feb/19
Canada 1.50 Feb/19
China 1.50 Feb/19
Euro Area 1.50 Feb/19
France 1.30 Feb/19
Germany 1.50 Feb/19
India 2.57 Feb/19
Indonesia 2.57 Feb/19
Italy 1.00 Feb/19
Japan 0.20 Feb/19
Mexico 3.94 Feb/19
Netherlands 2.60 Feb/19
Russia 5.20 Feb/19
Saudi Arabia -2.20 Feb/19
Singapore 0.40 Jan/19
South Africa 4.10 Feb/19
South Korea 0.50 Feb/19
Spain 1.10 Feb/19
Switzerland 0.60 Feb/19
Turkey 19.67 Feb/19
United Kingdom 1.90 Feb/19
United States 1.50 Feb/19


Related
Latest