South Korea's consumer prices gained 0.5 percent in February from a year earlier on a rise in prices for utility and service charges, government data showed Tuesday.
The reading marks the lowest since August 2016, when the comparable figure was 0.5 percent, Statistics Korea said.
From a month earlier, the index rose 0.4 percent.
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(Yonhap) |
"The biggest reason behind lower consumer prices is a decline in petrochemical products," said Kim Yun-sung, director of Statistics Korea's price statistics division.
Prices of petrochemical products fell 11.3 percent in February from a year earlier -- the biggest monthly decline in 33 months.
Utility prices rose 1.3 percent on-year last month, while prices of industrial goods fell 0.8 percent, the statistics agency said.
The statistical agency also said prices of service charges rose 1.4 percent. (Yonhap)
