Have prices soared sharply? "It's still there except for the price of oil."

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It turns out that the sharply soaring inflation has come to a halt in the past month.

This is because the price of oil has fallen a lot, but other parts such as food prices and utility bills are still going up.

Reporter Kim Jung-woo's report will be read first, and then the story will continue.

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The consumer price inflation rate in August was 5.7%, down 0.6% from July.

This is the first time that the inflation rate, which has been constantly rising since this year, has fallen.

This is thanks to the fact that the national average price of gasoline has fallen by nearly 400 won per liter in two months.

But few feel that prices have fallen.

[Kim Hye-young / Yangcheon-gu, Seoul: Vegetables, meat or seafood are all on top.

Even if I didn't buy meat, I went out with 50,000 to 100,000 won, and I saw that I used it right away without buying much.]

Except for oil prices, most of the other items also went up in price last month.

Petroleum prices fell by nearly half last month, but food, utility bills and service rates still rose.

Electricity, gas and water rates rose 15.7% from a year ago, recording the highest rate of increase since the survey began in 2010.

Agricultural, livestock, and marine products also rose 7%, and service rates including eating out rose 6.1%.

It looks like this trend will continue for the time being.

Grains contracted for high prices at the height of the Ukrainian war are now coming into Korea, so there is a story that food prices may fluctuate once more after Chuseok.

[Sewoon Hwang/Senior Research Fellow, Capital Market Research Institute: It seems to be a clear fact that the crop is quite bad.

Therefore, it can be predicted that grain prices are likely to remain unstable in the future.]

Service prices, once raised, do not tend to come down easily, and international oil prices also show signs of rising again as oil producing countries are likely to cut production. Inflation is expected to continue for the time being.

(Video coverage: Hwang In-seok, Video editing: Park Ki-duk)

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<Anchor>

Reporter Kim Jung-woo is here.

[Reporter Kim Jung-woo: Yes.

Maybe that's why yesterday (1st), the Bank of Korea unusually released data ahead of the August inflation announcement.

According to the contents, the inflation rate in August will be below 6%, but for the time being, the high inflation rate of 5-6% will continue.

In a word, don't be relieved yet, it is interpreted as saying that we have no choice but to raise the base rate as inflation will continue to be in a dangerous situation throughout this year.]

[Reporter Kim Jung-woo: As of the closing price of the foreign exchange market in Seoul today, the won-dollar exchange rate exceeded 1,360 won.

It has risen so steeply that it has risen by 60 won in one month.

If this happens, the price of grain and raw ash imported from abroad will rise, so domestic prices will inevitably rise.

And if the US Federal Reserve takes the so-called 'giant step', which raises the base rate by 0.75 percentage points this month, it will inevitably have a negative impact on domestic prices.]

[Reporter Kim Jung-woo: Yes.

The government is saying, 'As long as the Chuseok is over, the price will go down'.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho made a similar statement.

However, the actual situation may be slightly different.

As mentioned earlier, after the Chuseok holiday, there is a possibility that various food and product prices will rise once, and if this happens, the price will inevitably continue to rise.

And as the Bank of Korea has predicted in advance that it will continue to raise the base rate in the future, it seems necessary to take measures such as reducing spending or reducing debt.]