South Korea's Consumer Prices Gain 0.7% in July

South Korea's consumer prices rose by less than 1% for the third consecutive month in July, government data showed Tuesday, amid a flaccid economic recovery. 
The country's consumer price index rose 0.7% last month from a year earlier, marking the lowest on-year gain in 10 months, South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap) reported citing the data compiled by Statistics Korea. 
The price index of electricity and fuel gas sank 3.9% on-year in July, with that of gasoline and diesel at the pump falling 8.4% and 9%, respectively, over the same period. 
"The global trend of low oil prices has been weighing heavily on the consumer price index for the past months," said Woo Young-jae, director of the agency's price statistics division. "The decline in public utility charges pulled down the overall index by 0.56 percentage point." Prices of agricultural products fell 4% on-year last month. In particular, prices of fresh food, including vegetables and fruit, retreated 0.4% in July from a year earlier. 
The figure grew 0.8% on-year both in June and May, after rising 1% or more during the February-April period. 
From a month earlier, the index edged up 0.1% in July. 
Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices, increased 1.7% compared with last year, up 0.2 percentage point from a month earlier. Statistics Korea said a drop in public utility bills and gasoline prices dragged down the price index last month, while rises in agricultural product prices have become stable on the back of an increase in supply. 
The decline in utility bills and food prices, however, offset a sharp rise in residential rent, which rose 2.5% on-year, and private services like alcoholic drinks at pubs and restaurants that gained 2.1%. 
The statistics agency expected higher oil prices to push up prices of oil-related products and gasoline in the coming months. 
The average price of Dubai crude, which accounts for over 80% of the country's overall oil imports, climbed to around $40 per barrel this week after touching $26 in January. 
The finance ministry said the upward trend of global oil prices will likely ease the downward pressure on the country's inflation in the latter half of the year.