South Korea's inflation remained high in October, highlighting the pressure on prices. The Bank of Korea is considering further interest rate hikes after being put on hold last month. According to data released by Korea's Ministry of Data and Statistics on Tuesday, the consumer price index rose 2.8% year on year in that month, slightly lower than the 2.9% increase in September, which is in line with the median estimate given by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core inflation rate remained at 2.8%, higher than the median estimate of 2.7%. This figure shows that potential inflation remains stubborn. Continued inflationary pressure is the main reason why the Bank of Korea maintains a restrictive policy stance. Governor Shin Hyun-song said that inflation may be higher than the central bank's 2% target for some time, and the policy will remain restrictive until officials are convinced that the inflation rate is approaching the target level. After two consecutive interest rate hikes of 25 basis points in July and August, the Bank of Korea's monetary policy committee voted unanimously on October 22 to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3%. The updated inflation forecast will be announced at the next meeting on November 26th.

South Korea's inflation remained high in October, highlighting the pressure on prices. The Bank of Korea is considering further interest rate hikes after being put on hold last month. According to data released by Korea's Ministry of Data and Statistics on Tuesday, the consumer price index rose 2.8% year on year in that month, slightly lower than the 2.9% increase in September, which is in line with the median estimate given by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core inflation rate remained at 2.8%, higher than the median estimate of 2.7%. This figure shows that potential inflation remains stubborn. Continued inflationary pressure is the main reason why the Bank of Korea maintains a restrictive policy stance. Governor Shin Hyun-song said that inflation may be higher than the central bank's 2% target for some time, and the policy will remain restrictive until officials are convinced that the inflation rate is approaching the target level. After two consecutive interest rate hikes of 25 basis points in July and August, the Bank of Korea's monetary policy committee voted unanimously on October 22 to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3%. The updated inflation forecast will be announced at the next meeting on November 26th.