S Korea inflation rises at fastest pace since 2008BloombergSouth Korea’s inflation last month accelerated to the fastest pace since 2008, prompting the central bank to issue a statement as pressure intensifies for it to raise interest rates further at this month’s policy meeting. Compared with the previous month, consumer prices advanced 0.7 percent, while core inflation accelerated to 3.6 percent from a year earlier, the fastest pace since December 2011. Eo Woon-seon, a senior official at Statistics Korea, announces at a news conference in Seoul yesterday that consumer prices last month spiked 4.8 percent from a year earlier. At this pace, we may even see an inflation number beginning with ‘5.’”Rhee last week said that inflation remains a bigger concern than threats to the outlook for economic growth. Inflationary pressures that drive up wages to create a vicious circle of price rises is another potential risk facing monetary policy makers.
