S. Korea's consumer prices rise 3.1 pct in Jan

SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace
in nine months in January as prices of agricultural, dairy and fishery products
increased, a report showed Monday.

According to the report by Statistics Korea, the consumer price index rose 3.1
percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 2.8 percent on-year
advance the previous month. It marked the fastest gain since April when prices
jumped 3.6 percent.
It is in line with the 3.1 percent predicted in a poll by Yonhap Infomax, the
financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. Core inflation, excluding volatile oil
and food prices, rose 2.1 percent from a year ago, the report showed.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)