S. Korea's consumer prices rise 3.6 pct in April

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SEOUL, May 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices grew at the slowest pace
in 14 months in April as the cost of oil products declined, a government report
showed Friday.

According to the report by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the consumer
price index rose 3.6 percent last month from a year earlier, slowing from a 3.9
percent on-year advance the previous month. It was the slowest annual growth
since February 2008 when prices rose 3.6 percent.
Core inflation, excluding volatile oil and food prices, jumped 4.2 percent last
month, compared with the previous month's 4.5 percent rise, the report showed.
The NSO said that oil price declines drove down the overall price level. Costs of
gasoline and diesel products dropped 7 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively,
from a year earlier.
Prices are stabilizing as optimism mounts that the economy, Asia's
fourth-largest, is set to rebound from what could be the worst downturn in more
than a decade.
According to the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, the nation's current account surplus
reached a record US$6.65 billion in March, almost doubling from the $3.56 billion
surplus the previous month
Export decline is also easing, with overseas shipments falling 19 percent in
April from a year earlier, after a 22-percent slide the previous month, the
Ministry of Knowledge Economy said earlier in the day in a report.
The nation's gross domestic product grew 0.1 percent during the first quarter
from three months earlier, the central bank said, raising hopes the pace of
economic downturn might be easing. For the last quarter of 2008, GDP plunged 5.1
percent.
The government has unveiled a raft of stimulus measures, which include tax cuts
and increased fiscal spending.
Recently, the National Assembly passed a 28.4 trillion won extra budget, helping
speed up the government's moves to revive the sagging economy by creating jobs
and stimulating domestic spending.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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