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Inflation, which was expected to drop a little, has turned upside down again after three months.

Electricity, gas and water rates, which have risen since last month, have pushed up prices.



Correspondent Jo Ki-ho.



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Lee Min-hyung, who has been running a coffee shop for over 6 years, has a lot of trouble these days.



For the past few months, I was worried that the price of coffee beans and flour continued to rise, but now the electricity rate has also risen, which has made the burden even greater.



[Lee Min-hyung/Coffee shop president: (electricity bill) is about 300,000 won, and the next compartment is almost 100,000 won or more.

The (rate) increase has been confirmed.

The moment we see that bill, the future looks quite bleak.]



Last month, the consumer price index rose 5.7% from a year ago.



The downward trend that had continued for two months turned into an upward trend again, and the price of electricity, gas and water, which had been raised since last month, soared by more than 23%, raising prices.



Gasoline fell 2% due to the effect of the fuel tax cut, but kerosene, which is not subject to the cut, soared nearly 70%, and diesel, which has increased demand in Europe, also jumped 23.1%.



Food prices such as jajangmyeon, kimbap, and ramen rose by 12 to 3%, encouraging inflation.



Agricultural and fishery products fluctuated by item.



Rice and lettuce fell by more than 15%, but radishes and Chinese cabbage rose significantly.



Ahead of the kimchi season, the government took measures to release the ingredients for kimchi and issue discount coupons.



Inflation has risen again, but authorities expect it to stabilize after peaking at 6.3% in July.



But experts think differently.



There are a lot of bad news that will raise inflation, such as the prolonged Ukraine war, a strong dollar, and high interest rates.

[ Seong



Tae-yoon/Professor, Department of Economics, Yonsei University: Currently, it is considered that it is difficult to discuss the peak of inflation as inflation pressure remains while the overall price situation is still high.]



High prices were expected to continue.



(Video coverage: Kim Min-cheol, video editing: Lee Seung-jin, CG: Jo Su-in)