South Korea Inflation Jumps 2.2% On Year In January

(RTTNews) - Consumer prices in South Korea were up 2.2 percent on year in January, Statistics Korea said on Wednesday - exceeding expectations for 2.0 percent and accelerating from 1.9 percent in December.

It also marked the first in five months that the annual inflation rate rose more than 2 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, inflation rose 0.7 percent - also topping forecasts for 0.4 percent, which would have been unchanged.

Core CPI was up 0.5 percent on month and 1.9 percent on year, up from 0.1 percent on month and 1.8 percent on year in December.