Finance minister voices concern on faster price hikes in S. Korea

South Korea's consumer prices are expected to grow at a faster-than-expected pace in August as heavy rains caused price hikes of vegetables and other farm products, the nation's top economic policymaker said Thursday. "Vegetable prices remain high in the wake of typhoons and prolonged heavy rains and gold prices are also on the rise," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told a price stabilization meeting held in central Seoul. "It is worrisome that consumer prices for August will likely grow higher than expected." South Korea's consumer prices, a major gauge of inflation, jumped 4.7 percent in July from a year earlier, quickening from the previous month's 4.4 percent gain.