SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer price rose 1.3 percent in December from a year earlier, marking the lowest in five months, a government report showed Monday.
The consumer price inflation, which stayed above 2 percent for three months through November, fell again below the level in the last month of this year, according to Statistics Korea.
It was attributable to cheaper global crude oil and the government's temporary cut in fuel tax. The local currency's appreciation to the U.S. dollar also lowered import costs for crude oil.
Industrial goods price, which includes oil products, inched up 0.1 percent in December from a year earlier. Price for oil products declined 2.8 percent in December from a month ago, marking the first fall in 25 months.
Price for kerosene, which is excluded from the temporary tax cut, gained 11.2 percent in December from a year ago, after jumping 16.4 percent in November.
Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products rose 5.2 percent in December, pulling up the overall headline inflation by 0.39 percentage points.
Prices for electricity, tap water and natural gas added 1.4 percent, keeping an upward trend for two straight months.
Services price climbed 1.5 percent, raising the consumer price inflation by 0.84 percentage points.
