(KPL/Yonhap) Republic of Korea's consumer prices grew at the 2 percent level in June, mainly driven by higher costs of industrial goods, notably processed food products, government data showed Wednesday.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.2 percent from a year earlier last month, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

Inflation had remained above the Bank of Korea's 2 percent target for four consecutive months through April before slightly easing to 1.9 percent in May.

The June figure also marked the steepest on-year increase since January, when inflation also stood at 2.2 percent.

The statistics agency attributed the June increase to the recent depreciation of the local currency, which led to higher import prices for industrial goods A steady rise in service prices also contributed to overall inflationary pressure.

Prices of processed food products rose 4.6 percent on-year, the highest increase since November 2023.

Processed food prices contributed 0.39 percentage point to overall inflation in June.

Notable increases were seen in bread and coffee, which jumped 6.4 percent on-year and 12.4 percent on-year, respectively.

"Processed food price increases marked a gradual reflection of rising raw material costs and the depreciation of the Korean won," said Park Byung-seon, an official at Statistics Korea.

Petroleum product prices inched up 0.3 percent, reversing the previous month's decline. The rise was largely attributed to escalating tensions in the Middle East, which drove up global oil prices.

In the service sector, electricity, gas and water charges rose by 1.8 percent, 3.1 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Among personal services, prices for dining out and non-dining services rose 3.1 percent on-year and 3.5 percent on-year, respectively.

In contrast, prices of agricultural, livestock and fishery products fell 1.8 percent on-year in June.

However, egg prices surged 6 percent, marking the steepest on-year increase since January 2022.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 2 percent in June, the same increase as the previous month.

KPL