<Anchor>
Bank interest rates should come down even a little when inflation is stopped, but there is no sign of that right now.
Although the import price index, which has a direct impact on the consumer price index, declined slightly last month, it continued its high streak.
In particular, there is growing concern about the food side.
By Kim Bum-joo, staff reporter.
<Reporter>
The Bank of Korea announced that the import price index stood at 149.45 last month.
Although it fell 0.9% from 150.78 in July, it is still up 22.9% from a year ago and is continuing its high streak.
The Import Price Index is a comprehensive evaluation of the imported prices of 234 items that are widely used in Korea.
As imported goods become raw materials for domestic production, it is an index that can predict how consumer prices will move in the future.
By item, although the price of oil and coal products has slowed down compared to the summer, imports were still 28.5% higher than a year ago.
A bigger problem is food.
Agricultural products such as corn and wheat, as well as food and beverage products that have already been processed, rose more than 20% from a year ago, as well as more than the previous month.
Specifically, the import price of corn used as feed for livestock farms has doubled compared to two years ago, and the prices of flour, cooking oil and beef also rose by 50 to 70%.
In the end, even if oil prices fall, the prices of imported ingredients are not stable and food prices rise, followed by service prices such as restaurant food prices, which is expected to continue for a while.
Meanwhile, the export price index announced at the same time only rose 13.6% from a year ago as the price of electronic products, our flagship product, declined.