S Korea's consumer price growth decelerates in October

South Korea's on-year consumer price growth slowed down in October from a month ago, largely owing to weaker oil prices, a government report showed Monday.

According to the report released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the nation's consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.0 percent year-on-year in October, dropping from September when the figure hit a 2.2 percent gain.

Compared with a month earlier, the CPI inched down 0.3 percent in the cited period.

The NSO explained that the deceleration mainly came from a weakened fuel price.

The nation's core inflation, excluding volatile oil and food prices, also slowed down in growth, inching down from a 2.7 percent on-year gain to a 2.6 percent rise.

"It is hard to be certain, but there seems to be growing indications that consumer prices may be stabilizing overall," the head of the NSO's consumer price division was quoted as saying by local media reports.

Considering the current rate of the country's consumer price gains, the nation's inflation may not reach the 3 percent levels previously forecast by the Bank of Korea, he added.

The South Korean government has set its inflation target under 2.5 to 3.5 percent range.

Source:Xinhua