SEOUL: According to official data released on Tuesday, the high cost of energy and food in July caused consumer prices in South Korea to rise at their fastest phase in over 24 years.

According to Statistics Korea's data, consumer prices increased 6.3% more than they had a year earlier in July after rising by 6% in June.It represented the biggest year-over-year increase since consumer inflation increased 6.8% in November 1998. Korea's inflation rate was in the 6 percent area for a second consecutive month.

For the sixteenth consecutive month in July, consumer prices increased beyond the central bank's medium-term inflation objective of 2%. According to the statistics office, prices for both goods and services continued to rise quickly in July.

Eo Woon-sun, a senior Statistics Korea official, told reporters that prices for agricultural products as well as those for power, gas, and water supplies had increased.  Given the base effect, he said, consumer price increase may decelerate in August and September, but if the current trends continue, annual inflation is expected to exceed 5%.

Due to the protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine, supply interruptions around the world, and rising costs for commodities like crude oil, inflationary pressure has been on the rise. The Covid pandemic's recovery in demand added to the rising pressure on prices.

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