(KPL/Yonhap) Republic of Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in over a year in October, government data showed Tuesday.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.4 percent from a year earlier last month, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marks the largest on-year increase since July 2024, when inflation climbed 2.6 percent.

In 2025, inflation had remained above the Bank of Korea's 2 percent target for four consecutive months through April before slowing to 1.9 percent in May.

It then climbed again, staying above 2 percent in both June and July before briefly slowing to 1.7 percent in August and again climbing over 2 percent in September.

The ministry attributed last month's increase primarily to a sharp rise in prices of agricultural, livestock and fishery products, which jumped 2.3 percent, adding 0.25 percentage point to overall inflation.

Notably, prices of pork and mackerel rose 6.1 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

Prices of industrial goods climbed 3.5 percent on-year in October, while the service sector maintained its upward trend with a 2.5 percent gain.

In addition, petroleum products rose 4.8 percent, further fueling overall inflation growth.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.2 percent in October, accelerating from September's 2 percent increase.

KPL