SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer price index stayed above 2 percent due to higher food prices, statistical office data showed Tuesday.
Consumer price index (CPI) climbed by 2.1 percent in July from a year earlier, after going up 2.2 percent in the previous month, according to Statistics Korea.
The headline inflation hovered around the central bank's mid-term inflation target of 2 percent this year, with 2.2 percent in January, 2.0 percent in February, 2.1 percent in March, 2.1 percent in April and 1.9 percent in May.
Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products advanced 2.1 percent in July, faster than an increase of 1.5 percent in the previous month.
Prices for industrial products, including oil products, added 1.6 percent in July on a yearly basis, slower than the growth of 1.8 percent in the prior month.
The price for electricity, natural gas and tap water was up 2.7 percent in July, lower than an expansion of 3.1 percent in the previous month.
Private service prices, including eating-out cost, gained 3.1 percent last month, lifting the inflation by 1.06 percentage points. Public service prices added 1.4 percent.
Housing rent, including Jeonse and monthly rent, inched up 0.8 percent in July from a year earlier.
Jeonse is South Korea's unique contract between two households where a landlord grants the two-year residential right to a tenant, who in turn lends a certain amount of money, or deposit, to the landlord.
The livelihood items index, which gauges price for daily necessities, added 2.5 percent in July on a yearly basis, but the fresh food index, which measures price for fish, shellfish, fruit and vegetables, dipped 0.5 percent.
Demand-side inflationary pressure remained strong. Core consumer price index, which excludes volatile agricultural and oil products, appreciated 2.3 percent last month, slightly lower than a rise of 2.4 percent in the previous month.
The OECD-method core price, excluding volatile energy and food costs, gained 2.0 percent in the cited month.
Overall inflationary pressure remained amid recent policy rate cuts. The consumer price inflation showed an upward tendency after bottoming at 1.3 percent in October last year.
The Bank of Korea cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points in February and May each to 2.50 percent after lowering it by the same basis points in October and November last year. ■
