(LEAD) S. Korea's Oct. consumer prices rise 2.0 pct: gov't report

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SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices rose 2.0 percent in
October, driven by an increase in prices in the service and agricultural sectors,
a government report showed Monday.

The figure represents a slight drop from the 2.2 percent on-year gains tallied in
August and September, the report by the National Statistical Office (NSO) said.
Prices for the service sector rose 2.0 percent from a year before, with farm and
fisheries prices moving up 5.5 percent, the report said.
South Korea's consumer price growth soared to 5.9 percent in July 2008 before
falling to 4 percent levels by year's end and falling under 3 percent in May when
on-year gains reached 2.7 percent. It dipped to 2.0 percent in June and further
lost ground to 1.6 percent in the following month before making a slight
comeback.
The lastest statistics said industrial prices edged up 1.1 percent from a year
ago, while core inflation, excluding volatile oil and food prices, grew 2.6
percent on-year last month, decelerating from the previous month's 2.7 percent
rise, the report showed.
The state agency added that weak fuel prices played a role in the slight falling
off in prices last month, despite gains made in the service sector.
"It is hard to say for certain, but there seems to be growing indications that
consumer prices may be stabilizing overall," said Yang Dong-hee, head of the
NSO's consumer price division said.
He said that at current rate the country's consumer price gains will not reach
the 3 percent levels previously forecast by the Bank of Korea.
The central bank said consumer prices may move by 2.5-3.5 percent range this year
compared to the year before.
For the future, the official speculated that steady rise in international energy
costs in recent weeks could cause consumer prices to go up in November.
The NSO report, meanwhile, showed the country's consumer prices edging down 0.3
percent vis-a-vis the month before in October, with both farm and industrial
goods posting 1.1 percent and 0.5 percent losses, respectively.
The service sector's consumer prices gained 0.1 percent compared to the month
before.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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