Last month‘s consumer prices surged by 2 percent compared to the same month in the previous year, with livestock products showing the biggest increase at 11.6 percent, data by Statistics Korea showed Thursday.Consumer prices have been hovering around 2 percent since the first month of this year due to a sharp gain in oil prices. The latest upward trend in prices is also largely driven by higher meat and egg prices, with eggs surging 67.9 percent in the aftermath of an outbreak of avian inf

The capital adequacy ratio of banks and financial groups in South Korea improved in the first quarter of 2017 on the back of eased risk-weighted assets, data showed Wednesday.On average, based on the Bank for International Settlements, the capital requirement ratio of South Korea‘s 17 banks came to 15.14 percent, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. It inched up 0.33 percentage point compared to the end of 2016. The regulatory capital ratio is the percentage of a bank‘s ca

The average daily turnover of the South Korean won-Chinese yuan direct trading market in Seoul fell slightly in the first five months of the year from last year, government data showed Thursday.The daily trading volume in the Seoul won-yuan direct market reached $1.55 billion in the January-May period, down from last year's daily average turnover of $1.95 billion, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the Bank of Korea. The turnover has been on a decline sin

As political and economic woes continue to unfold regarding the deployment of an anti-missile system here and US President Donald Trump’s pending renegotiation of the Korea-US free trade agreement, the US Congressional Research Service predicted continued uncertainty for the future economic and political bilateral alliance. “Between 2009 and the end of 2016, relations between the two countries arguably reached their most robust state in decades. Political changes in both countries in

In an effort to explore methods to utilize big data to achieve sustainable development, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and Statistics Korea have organized a forum on innovative data approaches from Wednesday to Friday in Songdo, Incheon.  “In the information age, data is our most valuable currency,” said Kilaparti Ramakrishna, director and head of the ESCAP East and North-East Asia Office, in a press release by ESCAP on Wednesday. &ldq

South Korea’s global competitiveness ranking remained low at 29 among 63 countries in 2017, hit by a political scandal that rocked the nation last year, weak exports and fine dust, a report by an international institute showed Thursday.According to the International Institute for Management Development, a Switzerland-based private business school, Korea’s global competitiveness ranked at No. 29 in 2017, the lowest since 2008 when the economy was 31st. Among 14 countries in the Asia-P

The US Federal Reserve could raise its interest rate four times this year if the economy strengthens, a senior Fed official said Thursday.John C. Williams, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said that three rate increases this year is a reasonable baseline view, but there is potential for upside occurrences in the economy. "I could imagine if the economy strengthens, four rate increases this year would be appropriate," Williams said in a news conference in

South Korean stocks traded lower late Thursday morning as foreign investors and institutions offloaded large-cap stocks in an apparent move to lock in profits.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.99 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,343.39 as of 11:20 a.m.Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics inching down 0.27 percent after opening higher. SK hynix, a major chipmaker, also shed 1.05 percent.The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., meanwhile, gained 3

South Korea aims to attract more foreign capital as part of its efforts to promote globalization of its financial industry, the top financial watchdog said Thursday. Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, made the remarks earlier in the day at an international conference of finance in the southern port city of Busan. South Korea is working to promote the derivative financial sector, although challenges remain, Zhin said.  "The financial authorities have recentl

Fewer than 4 in 10 irregular workers in South Korea benefit from the country's state pension program, a much lower percentage than full-time employees, a report said Thursday.Slightly over 36 percent of temporary workers had state pension subscriptions as of 2016, compared to 83 percent for regulars, according to the report by the Korea Labor Institute. Roughly 68 percent of all workers in the country had subscriptions to the pension scheme that was introduced in 1988 to guarantee income for the

A potential US interest rate hike in June is likely to have an insignificant impact on the South Korean stock market as it is widely expected, analysts said Thursday.The Federal Reserve is slated to hold its monetary policy meeting on June 14-15 amid widespread expectations the US central bank will jack up its benchmark lending rate for the second time this year. The Fed raised rates in March on economic optimism. "As a recent survey shows, all watchers expect a rate increase in June, it wo

The head of South Korea's central bank called Thursday for measures to cope with population aging that could undermine growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said South Korea is not well-prepared for its rapidly increasing older population. Experts have expressed concerns that the aging population, coupled with a low birthrate, poses a serious threat to Asia's fourth-largest economy, as it could lead to fewer working people and increased spending on health and wel

South Korean stocks opened lower on Thursday, as investors attempted to cash in recent gains, but top market cap Samsung Electronics continued to build up gains.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 3.6 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,343.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was up 0.22 percent, continuing a two-day winning streak. Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, moved up

South Korea's exports jumped 13.4 percent last month from a year earlier to extend their winning streak to seven months on the back of brisk overseas sales of computer chips and displays, the trade ministry said Thursday.Outbound shipments came to $45 billion last month, up from $39.7 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country's exports have been on a steady rise since November led by an upturn in oil prices and recovering global trade. I

South Korea ranked high in first-quarter economic growth among major advanced and emerging economies as its economy got a boost from recovering exports and investment, data showed Thursday.Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 0.9 percent on-quarter in the January-March period from three months earlier, a quarterly increase of 0.4 percentage point in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It was the sixth-highest quar