SEOUL– Global credit appraiser S&P Global Ratings said Monday South Korea’s annual inflation is expected to hit 5 percent this year due to higher energy and commodity prices.
In its latest report, S&P said the inflation in the Asia-Pacific region has risen and that it has decided to raise its inflation outlook for other major economies in the area, including Australia, India and Indonesia.
“Driving these revisions are higher energy and commodity prices and, in a few cases, larger pass-through as economies recover and core inflation picks up amid decreasing slack,” it added.
In late June, South Korean Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said the country’s inflation will likely hit 6 percent during the June-August period on a global surge in oil, food and material costs,
S&P forecast South Korea’s inflation at 2.4 percent for 2023, followed by 1.8 percent and 1.6 percent for 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The credit appraiser also suggested Asia’s No. 4 economy will expand 2.6 percent on-year in 2022, which is 0.1 percentage point higher than its previous estimate released in April.
Source: Yonhap News Agency