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Consumer inflation to rise back to around 2% in September as temporary factor fades: BOK

Published: 02 Sep. 2025, 11:38

A sign stands at a restaurant in central Seoul on June 15. [YONHAP]

Consumer inflation is projected to rebound to around 2 percent in September as the temporary factors behind last month's slowdown dissipate, the central bank said Tuesday.

Bank of Korea (BOK) Deputy Gov. Kim Woong made the assessment during a meeting to review inflationary trends, as government data showed that consumer prices gained 1.7 percent from a year earlier in August, logging the slowest growth in nine months.

"Though heavy rains and heat waves drove up prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products, mobile phone charges fell sharply, pulling down last month's inflation by 0.6 percentage points," Kim said.

"Consumer prices are expected to rise to around 2 percent again this month, as such temporary downward factors disappear. Inflation is expected to stay around 2 percent for the time being, given weak demand and stable global oil prices," he added.

Korea's leading wireless carrier SK Telecom provided a 50 percent discount on August bills for its over 20 million users in response to a data breach incident.

The BOK recently revised up its forecast for this year's consumer inflation to 2 percent from its previous projection of 1.9 percent.

Yonhap