Market Update: Inflation likely to accelerate after April from high oil prices: BOK – Full Analysis

A shopper looks at items at a grocery store in Seoul on Aug. 11, 2025. [YONHAP]

 

Consumer inflation is expected to accelerate due to surging global oil prices amid the ongoing Iran war, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday.

 

BOK Deputy Gov. Yoo Sang-dai made the remarks during a price monitoring meeting earlier in the day, as government data showed that the consumer price index rose 2.2 percent in March from a year earlier, the steepest on-year increase since December of last year.

 


 

“Consumer price growth is expected to accelerate after April due to a sharp rise in global oil prices,” Yoo said. “Uncertainty remains high over the trajectory of inflation, particularly given developments in the Middle East and the resulting volatility in oil prices.”

 

The BOK will closely monitor price conditions “with heightened vigilance,” he added.

 

The war, which began in late February following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, has driven up global oil prices amid supply disruptions, rattling financial markets and fueling concerns over inflation and a potential economic slowdown.

 

The BOK expected prices of agricultural, fisheries and other food items to remain stable while noting that government measures to curb inflation will likely ease upward pressure on costs.

 

It added that the rise in consumer prices accelerated only “slightly” from a month earlier in March, as declines in agricultural, livestock and fishery product prices, along with the government’s fuel price cap, helped offset the impact of a sharp increase in petroleum prices.

Yonhap