SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / MENA Newswire / — South Korea’s consumer inflation accelerated to 3.1 percent in May, the fastest pace in 26 months, as higher fuel costs lifted household and transport expenses across Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The consumer price index rose from 2.6 percent in April and increased 0.5 percent from the previous month, the Ministry of Data and Statistics said, with petroleum products providing the largest single upward contribution to the annual gain.
Prices of petroleum products rose 24.2 percent from a year earlier, adding 0.92 percentage point to overall consumer inflation. Gasoline prices climbed 23.1 percent, diesel advanced 33.3 percent and kerosene also recorded a double-digit increase. The fuel gains fed directly into transport costs, which rose 11.6 percent year on year, making transport the sharpest-rising major spending category in the May consumer price index.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 2.5 percent from a year earlier, compared with 2.2 percent in April. The broader data showed inflation pressure beyond fuel, with recreation and culture up 5.0 percent, miscellaneous goods and services up 4.1 percent and restaurants and hotels up 3.7 percent. Food and nonalcoholic beverages rose at a slower rate than energy-linked categories but remained part of the overall increase.
Fuel costs lift transport inflation
Industrial product prices increased 4.2 percent in May, driven by the steep rise in petroleum products. Service prices rose 2.3 percent, while public service prices edged up 0.5 percent and personal service prices increased 3.0 percent. Agricultural, livestock and fisheries products rose 2.0 percent from a year earlier, reflecting more moderate food-related pressure than the increases recorded in fuel and transport-linked items.
The May figures followed a period of higher global crude prices and a weaker won, both of which increased import-related cost pressure in an economy that relies heavily on foreign energy supplies. The government’s fuel price ceiling system, introduced earlier in 2026 to limit domestic fuel price increases, remained in place during the reporting period. Even with that measure, petroleum products recorded the strongest rise among major tracked product groups.
Central bank monitors price pressure
The Bank of Korea said inflation was expected to stay around the 3 percent level for the time being because of the spillover effects of the oil price shock on other sectors. The central bank kept its base rate unchanged at 2.50 percent at its latest policy meeting and said it would continue monitoring inflation, growth and financial stability while seeking to keep consumer price inflation aligned with its medium-term target.
South Korea’s May inflation reading placed renewed attention on household purchasing power, energy costs and transport expenses at the start of the summer demand season. The latest official data showed the headline index at 119.92, using 2020 as the base year of 100. The increase marked a clear acceleration from April and confirmed fuel prices as the dominant driver of the country’s highest annual consumer inflation rate since March 2024.