Consumer prices rise to highest in 30 months in June on Middle East war impact

Korea's consumer prices rose more than 3 percent from a year earlier for two straight months in June, reflecting the lingering impact of the Middle East war on supply chains and oil prices, data showed Thursday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 3.2 percent last month from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked the sharpest increase since December 2023, when the figure was at the same level. Prices of industrial products rose 4.4 percent, driven largely by higher fuel prices. The data ministry said fuel prices shot up 24.7 percent, contributing 0.93 percentage point of the overall increase in consumer prices. It was the sharpest growth since 35.2 percent posted in July 2022. In detail, gasoline prices rose 23.1 percent and diesel prices jumped 33.7 percent. Korea relies heavily on imports to meet its energy needs. Prices of agricultural and fishery products rose 3.2 percent, led by increases in the prices of domestic beef and rice, which climbed 7.5 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively. The price of green onions, a staple