South korea: South Korea's consumer price growth moderated in July, with the annual inflation rate easing to 2.8 percent, down from 3.1 percent in June and 3.2 percent in May, according to data released today.

According to Oman News Agency, the annual inflation rate fell below the 3-percent threshold for the first time in three months, based on figures published by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. On a month-over-month basis, the pace of consumer price increases also decelerated in July, as oil prices showed signs of stabilization, although they remained elevated compared to the same period last year.

The data indicated that petroleum product prices rose 15.5 percent year-on-year in July; however, this annual increase was lower than the previous month's reading of 24.7 percent. Petroleum prices contributed 0.6 percentage points to the overall consumer price growth rate in July, compared to a 0.93 percentage-point contribution in June.

Diesel and gasoline prices remained elevated in July, posting year-on-year increases of 21.5 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively. The data further showed that industrial product prices overall rose 3.7 percent year-on-year in July.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes the more volatile food and energy prices, stood at 2.6 percent last month, marking its highest level since December 2023, when it recorded 2.8 percent.