Price cap kept September inflation 0.6 percentage points lower, government says

The government estimated that September consumer prices would have risen 3.5 percent year-on-year — 0.6 percentage points higher than the actual 2.9 percent — had the oil price cap not been in place.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday it held a meeting of price-related ministries and a pan-government joint response team on living-cost violations, chaired by Lee Ju-seop, director general of the people's livelihood economy bureau, where the findings were discussed.

Consumer prices rose 2.9 percent in September from a year earlier, narrowing the pace of increase by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month's 3.1 percent.

Fuel prices edged down from the previous month, with gasoline holding around 1,850 won per liter and diesel around 1,840 won per liter. The government estimated the price cap lowered the September consumer price inflation rate by 0.6 percentage points.

Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products fell 0.3 percent in September after dropping 2.6 percent in August, marking a second consecutive month of year-on-year declines. The government said a base effect from last year's Chuseok — which fell in the second week of October — added upward pressure on prices, but record-scale discount support and expanded supply of seasonal goods contributed to the decline.

Among seasonal Chuseok goods, 178,000 tons of agricultural and livestock products were supplied, exceeding the originally planned 163,000 tons. Of the 22,000 tons of seafood planned through October, 20,000 tons had been supplied.

The government said these measures helped South Korea record a lower inflation rate than major economies where rising energy prices had pushed prices higher. US consumer price inflation stood at 3.4 percent in both July and August, while the eurozone's rate rose from 2.9 percent to 3.3 percent over the same period.

However, with upward price pressure persisting due to the prolonged Middle East war, the government said it would strengthen supply and price management for individual agricultural, livestock and fishery items and continue improving retail distribution structures. It also plans to stabilize fuel prices through the price cap and fuel tax cuts, and to support vulnerable groups through fuel-linked subsidies.

"As upward pressure on prices continues due to the prolonged Middle East war and other factors, the government must make every effort to manage prices stably," Lee said.

The meeting also reviewed the status of investigations and crackdowns on unfair practices in daily necessities such as food and education, illegal private lending, ticket scalping and shrinkflation.

Investigations into illegal private lending resulted in 1,730 people arrested across 1,359 cases, with 81 taken into detention. In ticket scalping cases, 157 people were arrested across 126 cases, with two detained.

The government plans to continue related enforcement while swiftly pursuing regulatory improvements — including cross-ministry legislative revisions — to establish a fair market order.