South Korea’s annual inflation rate eased to 2.9% in September 2026 from 3.1% in August, in line with market expectations but still above the central bank’s 2% target. The slowdown was largely driven by weaker price growth in food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.0% vs 1.3% in August) and in alcohol and tobacco (0.1% vs 0.2%). Price increases also moderated in health (1.6% vs 1.9%), education (1.6% vs 1.7%), and restaurants and hotels (2.8% vs 2.9%).
By contrast, inflation accelerated for housing, water, electricity and fuel (1.9% vs 1.5%), household goods and services (3.0% vs 2.9%), and transport (7.7% vs 6.3%), while clothing and footwear inflation was unchanged at 2.8%.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, slowed to 2.8% from 3.4% in August, matching forecasts. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.3%, the fastest increase since May, picking up from 0.2% in August.
