Consumer price inflation fell by 0.7 percentage points in one month.
According to the ‘Consumer Price Trends for November’ released by the Office for National Statistics on the 2nd, the consumer price index for this month was 109.10 (2020 = 100), up 5.0% from the same month last year . The rate of increase fell by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month, and was the lowest level since last April (4.8%).
The inflation rate rose to 6.3%, the highest since the Asian financial crisis, in July, then fell to 5.7% in August and 5.6% in September, before widening to 5.7% in October due to electricity and gas tariff increases.
By item, agricultural and fishery products rose by 0.3%, slowing significantly compared to the previous month (5.2%). Agricultural products fell by 2.0%. This is the first time since last May (-0.6%) that agricultural product prices have fallen from a year ago. Livestock products rose 1.1% and fishery products rose 6.8%.
Industrial products rose 5.9%, slightly down 0.4% from the previous month (6.3%). Petroleum products rose 5.6% and processed foods rose 9.4%. The rate of increase in petroleum products peaked at 39.6% in June, then gradually slowed to 35.1% in July and 10.7% in October.
Electricity, gas and water rose by 23.1%, the same as the previous month. The rate of increase in electricity, gas and water has recorded the highest level since January 2010, when statistics began to be collected due to increases in public utility rates in October.
The growth rate of personal services slowed to 6.2% from the previous month (6.4%). Eating out increased by 8.6%, and personal services other than eating out increased by 4.5%.
The rate of increase in core inflation (an index excluding agricultural products and oil), which shows the underlying trend of prices, remained the same as the previous month at 4.8%, the highest level since February 2009 (5.2%) . Another core inflation indicator, the index excluding food and energy, rose 4.3%, the highest since December 2008 (4.5%).
The cost of living, which mainly includes frequently purchased items and is close to perceived inflation, rose by 5.5%, slowing from the previous month (6.5%).
Hong Min-seong, Hankyung.com reporter mshong@hankyung.com
