Inflation in South Korea slowed to the weakest pace in more than 15 years amid declining energy-import costs and softness in domestic demand.
Consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in February from a year earlier, Statistics Korea said in a statement on Tuesday. That’s lower than the median estimate of 0.7 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of 17 economists. Prices were unchanged from the previous month, versus projections for a 0.2 percent gain.
This is likely to increase pressure on the Bank of Korea to consider cutting its benchmark interest rate after recent data showed industrial output unexpectedly falling and exports dropping the most in two years. Governor Lee Ju Yeol has said that if the economic situation deteriorates, the BOK will probably have reduce rates further.
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