[앵커]
Last month, the rate of consumer price inflation recorded 2.9%, falling to a 2% level for the first time in three months.
Although the slowdown in prices is assessed to be in line with expectations, strong agricultural prices and rising oil prices are seen as factors of uncertainty in the future.
Reporter Son Seo-young reports.
[리포트]
The National Statistical Office announced that consumer prices in April rose by 2.9% compared to the same period last year.
The inflation rate, which was above 3% in February and March, fell to the 2% range for the first time in three months.
Product prices rose 3.8%, and agricultural, livestock and marine products rose 10.6%, continuing double-digit increases.
Fruit prices rose by 38.7%.
Although the increase was less than in February and March when it was above 40%, the upward trend continued.
Apples rose 80.8% during the same period, and pears rose 102.9%, the biggest increase ever.
[고외숙/서울시 영등포구 : “기획 세일가, 그럴 때 두 뭉치 사 가지고 가고 그랬는데. 갑자기 너무 비싸 사과가 금 사과야 완전히. 서서히 조금씩 조금씩 올랐는데 자꾸 올라가는 거야 가격이….”]
The fresh food index, which is directly linked to meal prices, rose 19.1%.
Looking at the contribution to the April inflation rate by item, it was found that agricultural products increased prices by 0.76%p, and personal services, including eating out, increased prices by 0.95%p.
Petroleum prices, which had experienced great price volatility due to the growing crisis in the Middle East, rose for two consecutive months, rising by 1.3% compared to the same month a year ago.
The prices of services rose by 2.2%.
The core price index, which excludes items with high price volatility such as agricultural products and petroleum, rose 2.2%, slowing the rate of increase compared to the previous month.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Bank of Korea predicted that prices will slow down in the future, focusing on core prices.
However, it is expected that the volatility of international oil prices and weather conditions that may affect agricultural product prices will be variables.
This is Son Seo-young from KBS News.
Video Editing: Kim Ki-gon
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