▲ This file photo, taken Dec. 6, 2021, shows a citizen grocery shopping at a discount store in Seoul amid rising inflationary pressure. (Yonhap)

consumer prices-2021 tally

Consumer price growth hits 10-year high this year

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in 10 years in 2021 due to surging energy costs and high prices of farm products, data showed Friday.

Consumer prices rose 2.5 percent this year from a year earlier, accelerating from a 0.5 percent on-year gain in 2020, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It marked the steepest on-year rise since 2011, when consumer inflation spiked 4 percent.

In December, consumer prices grew 3.7 percent from the previous year, slowing from a 3.8 percent on-year gain in November. Inflation rose more than 3 percent for the third month in a row.

The 2021 reading is higher than the 2.3 percent growth forecast by the Bank of Korea (BOK). It also exceeded the government's projection of 2.4 percent.

The BOK aims to keep annual inflation at 2 percent over the medium term.

South Korea's consumer prices are under upward pressure due to rising oil prices and high prices of agricultural products. Demand-pull inflationary pressure has also built up amid the economic recovery.

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