ID :
165829
Fri, 03/04/2011 - 12:12
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/165829
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea seeks stable personal service fees to curb inflation: official
(ATTN: ADDS more comments in last 2 paras)
SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will intensify its efforts to stabilize personal service prices as part of efforts to ease rising inflationary pressure, a senior finance ministry official said Friday.
"The main culprit for the February consumer price hike is the steep rise in costs for personal services, such as dining out," Yim Jong-yong said at a meeting with other economy-related policymakers.
"There are concerns that rising raw material prices will continue to drive up the overall costs of such services and that could increase inflation expectations, possibly prompting service providers to just follow suit in raising prices of their products."
He also emphasized the government's commitment to cracking down on unfair business practices to prevent unjust price increases.
His remarks come as the government continues its drive to tame inflation after it declared an all-out "war" to stabilize prices of daily necessities on every possible front.
The government has unveiled diverse measures such as easing import taxes on basic goods, unloading its stockpiles of agricultural products and cracking down on price-rigging in the corporate sector that it fears could lead to an unjust price rise.
But it seems to be losing its battle as the nation reported earlier that consumer prices jumped 4.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the steepest hike in 27 months.
The rise is mostly attributed to higher prices of oil and agricultural products. The government currently aims to stabilize inflation at 3 percent this year, while achieving 5 percent economic growth.
Soaring crude oil prices are aggravating the government's anti-inflation efforts. The turmoil in North African and Middle East countries has resulted in a spike in crude oil prices, a serious external factor especially for South Korea, which depends heavily on imports for its energy needs.
The government recently upgraded its energy alert level, saying that it will implement nationwide conservation measures to deal with surging crude oil prices.
Yim called for other policymakers to come up with new incentives aimed at encouraging energy saving. He also noted that the government will review its energy contingency plan to better cope with oil price movement.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will intensify its efforts to stabilize personal service prices as part of efforts to ease rising inflationary pressure, a senior finance ministry official said Friday.
"The main culprit for the February consumer price hike is the steep rise in costs for personal services, such as dining out," Yim Jong-yong said at a meeting with other economy-related policymakers.
"There are concerns that rising raw material prices will continue to drive up the overall costs of such services and that could increase inflation expectations, possibly prompting service providers to just follow suit in raising prices of their products."
He also emphasized the government's commitment to cracking down on unfair business practices to prevent unjust price increases.
His remarks come as the government continues its drive to tame inflation after it declared an all-out "war" to stabilize prices of daily necessities on every possible front.
The government has unveiled diverse measures such as easing import taxes on basic goods, unloading its stockpiles of agricultural products and cracking down on price-rigging in the corporate sector that it fears could lead to an unjust price rise.
But it seems to be losing its battle as the nation reported earlier that consumer prices jumped 4.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the steepest hike in 27 months.
The rise is mostly attributed to higher prices of oil and agricultural products. The government currently aims to stabilize inflation at 3 percent this year, while achieving 5 percent economic growth.
Soaring crude oil prices are aggravating the government's anti-inflation efforts. The turmoil in North African and Middle East countries has resulted in a spike in crude oil prices, a serious external factor especially for South Korea, which depends heavily on imports for its energy needs.
The government recently upgraded its energy alert level, saying that it will implement nationwide conservation measures to deal with surging crude oil prices.
Yim called for other policymakers to come up with new incentives aimed at encouraging energy saving. He also noted that the government will review its energy contingency plan to better cope with oil price movement.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
