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By Kwanwoo Jun
South Korea’s headline inflation eased for a fourth consecutive month in May to hit a 19-month low, justifying the central bank’s pause in policy tightening aimed at curbing price growth.
The benchmark consumer-price index, gained 3.3% from a year earlier in May–the weakest pace since October 2021–after rising 3.7% in preceding month, the country’s statistics office said Friday.
The May reading, matching the median forecast from The Wall Street Journal poll of nine economists–was still above the central bank’s 2.0% target.
Compared with the prior month, the index gained 0.3% in May following the prior month’s 0.2% increase.
Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.9% from a year ago and 0.3% from a month earlier in May. It had gained 4.0% on year and 0.3% on month in April.
The Bank of Korea in May kept its base rate unchanged at 3.50% for a third consecutive policy meeting and lowered its growth forecast for this year.
The bank’s policy is seen as gradually shifting to supporting growth amid signs that the economy is losing steam.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
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