[Breaking] September Consumer Prices Rise 2.9%... Back in the 2% Range

[Financial News] The consumer price inflation rate fell back into the 2% range last month after two months.
According to the September Consumer Price Trends released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on the 2nd, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% year on year last month. It increased 0.3% from the previous month.
By month, consumer price inflation rose to 3.1% in May and 3.2% in June before slowing to 2.8% in July and climbing back to 3.1% in August. It then fell to 2.9% last month, returning to the 2% range after two months.
Industrial products contributed significantly to the increase. Petroleum products rose 14.8% year on year last month. By item, Diesel rose 20.0% and gasoline increased 11.8%, remaining at elevated levels. Processed food prices also rose 2.1% year on year. This marked a larger increase than the 1.5% gain recorded the previous month. 
Agricultural, livestock and fishery products fell 0.3% year on year. However, the decline narrowed substantially from the 2.6% drop recorded in August. By item, domestic beef rose 6.6%, pumpkin 46.9%, mackerel 8.6%, and largehead hairtail 12.9%.
Services prices rose 2.7% year on year. As the base effect from telecommunications fee discounts in August disappeared, services prices fell from the previous month's 3.7% increase.
[email protected] Kim Chan-mi Reporter