South Korea’s Inflation Rate
Declines in July

Seoul, 4 Aug 2026 (ONA) — South
Korea’s consumer price growth moderated in July, with the annual inflation rate
easing to 2.8 percent, down from 3.1 percent in June and 3.2 percent in May,
according to data released today.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency
reported that the annual inflation rate fell below the 3-percent threshold for
the first time in three months, based on figures published by the Ministry of
Data and Statistics.

On a month-over-month basis, the
pace of consumer price increases also decelerated in July, as oil prices showed
signs of stabilization, although they remained notably elevated compared to the
same period last year.

The data indicated that petroleum
product prices rose 15.5 percent year-on-year in July; however, this annual
increase was lower than the previous month’s reading of 24.7 percent.

Petroleum prices contributed 0.6
percentage points to the overall consumer price growth rate in July, compared
to a 0.93 percentage-point contribution in June.

Diesel and gasoline prices
remained particularly elevated in July, posting year-on-year increases of 21.5
percent and 12.6 percent, respectively.

The data further showed that
industrial product prices overall rose 3.7 percent year-on-year in July.

Meanwhile, core inflation—which
excludes the more volatile food and energy prices—stood at 2.6 percent last
month, marking its highest level since December 2023, when it recorded 2.8
percent.

— Ends/AH