S Korea inflation pressuring BOKBloombergSouth Korean consumer prices stayed well above the Bank of Korea’s (BOK) target last month, data released yesterday showed, keeping the pressure on policymakers to continue tightening as central banks move to tamp down inflation. Consumer prices rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier, edging down from a 3.7 percent gain in December last year, according to BOK data, which ran hotter than economists had expected. An employee works on the production line manufacturing Hyundai Motor Co Ioniq 5 electric vehicles at the company’s plant in Ulsan, South Korea, on Jan. 20. “This doesn’t mean the BOK will hike its rate again this month, after having moved in January,” strategist Roh Hyun-woo at Hanwha Asset Management said of Korea’s inflation figures. Food and beverage prices increased 5.5 percent from a year earlier, while utility costs rose 3.3 percent.

Source: Taipei Times February 05, 2022 03:58 UTC