Korea: Inflation above target for the third month in November
Latest reading: Consumer prices rose 2.4% on a year-on-year basis in November, unchanged from the previous month’s reading. November’s reading was the strongest since July 2024 and remained above the Bank of Korea 2.0% inflation target for the third consecutive month.
Relative to the prior month’s figures, there were higher price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+4.7% in annual terms vs +3.5% in October) and clothing and footwear (+2.3% vs +2.1% in October). In contrast, there were milder price pressures for transportation (+3.2% vs +3.4% in October) and recreation and culture (+1.4% vs +2.1% in October). Finally, the variation in housing and utilities prices was the same as in the prior month (+1.2% in November and October).
Meanwhile, core consumer prices were up 2.0% in annual terms in November, following a 2.2% increase in the previous month.
Lastly, consumer prices were down 0.19% in November on a month-on-month basis, following a 0.31% rise in the prior month.
Panelist insight: Commenting on the outlook, Jeong Woo Park, analyst at Nomura, stated:
“With the recovery in domestic demand and the weaker KRW pushing import prices higher, which is feeding into domestic food and oil prices, we raise our 2026 inflation forecast.”