Consumer prices rise 2.2% in March; diesel jumps 17% on high oil shock

According to Financial News, consumer prices in March were 2.2% higher than a year earlier. This was slightly above February’s 2.0%, but the rate remained in the low 2% range for the seventh consecutive month. However, petroleum products jumped 9.9% year-on-year due to the spike in global oil prices and the strong dollar following the United States–Iran war. This is the largest increase in three years and five months, since a 10.3% rise in October 2022. Diesel prices rose 17%, and gasoline was up 8%. The price of rice, a staple for ordinary households, also increased 15.6%.
On the 2nd, the Ministry of Data and Statistics reported that the consumer price index for March stood at 118.80 (2020=100), up 2.2% from a year earlier. This is the highest rate of increase so far this year.
Despite lower prices for agricultural, livestock, and fishery products, higher prices for petroleum products and industrial goods, along with various service fees and electricity, gas, and water rates, all combined to push overall inflation higher.
In particular, petroleum products rose 9.9%, adding 0.39 percentage points to the overall inflation rate. This is comparable to the 10.3% increase seen in October 2022, shortly after the Russo-Ukrainian War began.
Among petroleum products, diesel recorded the largest gain at 17%. Gasoline prices increased 8%. For diesel, this is the biggest rise since December 2022, when it jumped 21.9%, and for gasoline, the steepest increase since January last year, when it rose 9.2%.
With international oil prices having climbed above 110 dollars per barrel, the fact that domestic prices rose only this much is seen as reflecting the impact of the government’s first designation of maximum prices for petroleum products last month, which capped retail prices at gas stations.
Lee Doo-won, Director-General for Economic Trends and Statistics, National Data Office, said, "Diesel is used more widely, including in commercial transport vehicles, so its price appears to have risen more sharply," adding, "The second designation of maximum prices for petroleum products, changes in international airfares due to higher jet fuel prices, and fuel tax cuts will be reflected in April’s consumer prices."
Prices of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products fell 0.6% from a year earlier. Even so, rice, a key item in everyday living costs, rose 15.6% year-on-year, pork increased 6.3%, and eggs were up 7.8%.
The cost of living index, which focuses on frequently purchased items and reflects perceived inflation, rose 2.3%. Compared with a year earlier, food items increased 1.6%, while non-food items were up 2.8%.
Thanks to lower prices for flour, sugar, and other inputs, prices of processed foods such as bread and instant noodles rose 1.6% year-on-year, with the pace of increase slowing from 2.1% in February.
Personal service prices were 3.2% higher than a year earlier. Within this category, insurance services, including indemnity health insurance premiums, surged 14.9%, and maintenance fees for apartment complexes rose 4.6%.
Tap water charges increased 2.2% from a year earlier.
Transportation-related prices also climbed 5.0% year-on-year due to the impact of high oil prices, marking the sharpest increase in one year and eight months.
Higher import prices for raw materials caused by high oil prices, a strong dollar, and shortages of key components pushed computer prices up 12.4%.

skjung@fnnews.com Jung Sang-geun, Choi Yong-jun Reporter