Consumer inflation wanes in South Korea

South Korea’s consumer price rose 1.3 percent in December from a year earlier, marking the lowest in five months, a government report showed. The consumer price inflation, which stayed above 2 percent for three months through November, fell again below the level in the last month of this year, according to Statistics Korea. It was attributable to cheaper global crude oil and the government’s temporary cut in fuel tax. The local currency’s appreciation against the US dollar also lowered import costs for crude oil. Industrial goods price, which includes oil products, inched up 0.1 percent in December from a year earlier. Price for oil products declined 2.8 percent in December from a month ago, marking the first fall in 25 months.