Last month's consumer price growth rate recorded 3.1%, the largest increase in 2 years and 2 months. This is the first time it has entered the 3% range since last March. According to the 'May Consumer Price Trends' announced by the National Statistical Office on the 2nd, the consumer price index last month was 119.92 (2020=100), up 3.1% from the same month last year. The consumer price growth rate had slowed to 2.3% in December last year and 2.0% in January and February this year, but rebounded to 2.2% in March and 2.6% in April, before expanding by 0.5 percentage points in just one month.

As international oil prices soared due to the aftermath of the war in the Middle East, petroleum product prices jumped 24.2%, pulling up overall prices by 0.92 percentage points. This is the highest increase rate since July 2022, during the early stages of the Russia-Ukraine war. Gasoline (23.1%), diesel (33.3%), and kerosene (21.7%) took a direct hit from the surge in oil prices. Affected by this, industrial product prices also rose 4.2%, pushing up overall prices by 1.40 percentage points. In contrast, processed food prices rose only 0.8%.

Service prices rose 2.8%, accounting for 1.56 percentage points of the overall increase. In particular, international airfares soared 33.5% due to increased fuel surcharges, recording the largest increase since statistics were first compiled in 1995. Due to increased travel demand during the holiday period, overseas group tour costs and passenger car rental fees also showed double-digit growth rates. Items related to petroleum products, such as home repair material costs, engine oil replacement fees, and laundry fees, also increased across the board. Dining out increased by 2.6%, and personal services excluding dining out rose by 4.4%.

Agricultural, livestock, and marine products rose 2.2%, rebounding in two months due to the base effect from the previous year and a decrease in shipments caused by high temperatures. Prices of cutlassfish, rice, and eggs increased, but some vegetables such as cabbage, radish, and onions decreased.

The living price index, which indicates perceived inflation, rose 3.3%, showing the largest increase in 2 years and 1 month. Non-food items rose 4.2%, and food prices increased by 2.1%. On the other hand, the fresh food index fell by 1.4%. The index excluding food and energy, which is the OECD's standard core price indicator, rose 2.5%, recording its highest level since February of last year.

Lee Doo-won, Economic Trend Statistics Review Officer at the National Statistical Office, stated, "Considering the increase rates of processed food and agricultural, livestock, and marine products, we are not in an omnidirectional spread phase. However, considering the time-lag effect on the supply side, it is necessary to keep an eye on the trend in the second half of the year."