SEOUL: Consumer prices in South Korea advanced 1 percent in November from a year earlier, escaping from a zero-percent level for the first time in 12 months, a government report showed Tuesday.
The consumer price inflation rose to 1 percent in November after staying at the zero-percent level for 11 months since December last year, according to Statistics Korea.
The faster inflation was mainly attributed to a slower fall in global crude oil price. Higher fares for intra-city bus boosted service prices, while more expensive home rental contributed to higher headline inflation.
Service prices advanced 2.2 percent in November from a year earlier, contributing to a 1.23 percentage-point gain in the overall headline inflation.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile prices of agricultural and oil products, increased 2.4 percent in November from a year earlier, staying above 2 percent for 11 straight months.
The OECD-method core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy prices, gained 2.7 percent last month on a yearly basis.
