SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer price inflation remained high last month amid surging oil prices and a sharp rebound in processed food prices, statistical ministry data showed Tuesday.
The consumer price index gained 2.8 percent in October from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
After jumping into the 3-percent range in May and June due to high oil prices, triggered by the Middle East conflicts, the headline inflation cooled to 2.8 percent in July before rebounding to 3.1 percent in August.
It stabilized in the late 2 percent range with 2.9 percent in September and 2.8 percent in October, but inflation stayed above the central bank's mid-term inflation target of 2 percent for 14 straight months since September 2025.
Processed food prices soared 2.9 percent year-on-year in October, accelerating from a 2.1 percent gain in the prior month. It marked the highest increase in 11 months since November last year.
Petroleum product prices spiked 14.9 percent, driving up the overall inflation by 0.56 percentage points, while prices for agricultural, livestock and fisheries products fell 1.7 percent, pulling down the inflation by 0.14 percentage points.
The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile agricultural and oil products, added 2.8 percent last month, while the OECD-method core price, excluding volatile food and energy costs, was up 2.8 percent. ■
