Key facts
- Diesel prices rose 19.7% on-year in October and gasoline prices rose 11.6%, the ministry's data showed.
- Agricultural, livestock and fishery product prices fell 1.7% on-year in October, the ministry said.
- Inflation remained above the Bank of Korea's 2.0% target, the report said.
- A separate poll put the consensus peak policy rate at 3.50%, pricing one more hike in November and another in the first quarter of 2027.
South Korea's consumer prices rose 2.8% in October from a year earlier, the Ministry of Data and Statistics said, easing from 2.9% in September and 3.1% in August. The October reading nearly matched a 2.85% increase forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
The consumer price index rose 0.2% on a monthly basis in October after gaining 0.3% in the previous month, the data showed. Inflation remained well above the Bank of Korea's 2.0% target.
Energy costs stayed elevated. Diesel prices rose 19.7% on-year in October and gasoline prices rose 11.6%, the ministry's data showed. Prices of agricultural, livestock and fishery products fell 1.7% over the same period, offsetting part of the energy-driven increase in the headline measure.
With global energy prices elevated and household borrowing rising, the Bank of Korea is widely expected to hike rates in the coming months, maintaining its tight monetary posture. A separate poll showed consensus forecasts put the peak policy interest rate at 3.50%, pricing in one more hike in November and another in the first quarter of 2027.