Consumer prices last month rose 2.8% from a year earlier, staying in the high-2% range for a second month after September. Prices of petroleum products and processed foods continued to rise, while farm, livestock and fishery products fell.
According to the “October Consumer Price Trends” released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on the 3rd, the consumer price index for October came in at 120.73 (2020=100). The inflation rate climbed to the 3% range in May and June, when petroleum product prices soared due to the Middle East war. It then fell to 2.8% in July, rose again to 3.1% in August, and, after 2.9% in September, stayed in the high-2% range in October.
By item, petroleum products jumped 14.9%, pushing up overall inflation by 0.56 percentage point. It is the largest increase since July (15.5%). Processed foods rose 2.9%, exceeding September's 2.1%, and hit their highest level in 11 months, since November last year (3.3%).
Eating-out prices also rose 2.9%. That is the highest figure since February this year (2.9%), and the contribution to overall inflation was 0.42 percentage point.
Farm, livestock and fishery products fell 1.7%, lowering overall prices by 0.14 percentage point, and the decline continued for a third month. Agricultural products fell 7.5%, with vegetables down as much as 11.2%. Livestock products (4.8%) and fishery products (5.4%), on the other hand, rose, and the increase in fishery products was the largest since January this year (5.9%).
The living cost index, made up of frequently purchased items to reflect perceived prices, rose 2.6%. The fresh food index, known as “dinner table prices,” fell 6.2% from the same month a year earlier. The index excluding food and energy, the core inflation measure under Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards, rose 2.8%.