Seoul:South Korea's consumer prices experienced a 2.8% increase in October compared to the previous year, according to recent data. This marks the second consecutive month that inflation has remained within the 2% range, with agricultural product prices continuing to decline, counterbalancing the persistent high energy costs.

According to Wam, the data, sourced from the Ministry of Data and Statistics and reported by Yonhap, indicates that the growth in consumer prices has slightly eased, dropping from 2.9% in September and 3.1% in August. The report highlights significant increases in energy prices, with diesel prices soaring by 19.7% and gasoline prices by 11.6% on a year-on-year basis.

South Korea, which is heavily dependent on imports for its energy needs, has seen a contrasting decline in the prices of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products, which decreased by 1.7% over the same period. Meanwhile, core inflation, excluding the volatile categories of food and energy, remained steady at 2.8% on a yearly basis in October.