Seoul: South Korea's consumer prices rose at a 2 percent level for the second consecutive month in February, driven by a weaker local currency that pushed up import costs, data showed Thursday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2 percent from a year earlier last month.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the data from Statistics Korea follows a 2.2 percent on-year rise in January, marking the steepest on-year increase since July. South Korea's consumer inflation has remained below 3 percent since April and below the central bank's 2 percent target since September, when it grew 1.6 percent on-year.
The inflation rate dipped further to 1.3 percent in October before slightly rising to 1.5 percent the following month. The rate came to 1.9 percent in December. The agency attributed the recent uptick to rising energy costs and the depreciation of the local currency, which led to higher import prices.
The Korean won has been under pressure due to political uncertainty sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. The situation has been further exacerbated by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff escalation, which could negatively impact South Korea's export-driven economy.