Overview

• July’s consumer price index rose by 2.1% year on year, marking the second straight month above the Bank of Korea’s 2% target.
• In July, spinach prices climbed 78.4% month on month; young radish rose 57.1% and lettuce jumped 30%.
• The fresh food index increased 2% from June as fresh vegetables surged 4.5%, underscoring ongoing inflation volatility.
• The Finance Ministry is offering a 3,000-won discount per 20 kilograms of rice and doubling the release of napa cabbage reserves to stabilize staple prices.
• SK Telecom will apply bill discounts in August and provide free data services through December to dampen service price growth.