Risk and sentiment
Korea CPI
Korean consumer price index for all items.
At a glance
Korea CPI: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-06-30, Korea CPI is 120.0 idx. It is 0.07 idx higher than 119.9 idx on 2026-05-31.
Across 126 available observations from 2016-01-31 to 2026-06-30, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 100th percentile.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 2016-01-31–2026-06-30
- Observations · observed cadence
- 126 · Monthly
- Data source
- Bank of Korea ECOS
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
Time-series chart
Korea CPI
2016-01-31–2026-06-30
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Interpretation guide
Reading the Korea CPI level as a measure of accumulated price burden
The Korea consumer price index is compiled monthly by Statistics Korea and expressed as an index with the base year set to 100. Because this series shows the price level rather than the pace of change, it answers how much prices have stacked up over the years, not how fast they are rising right now.
What the index level tells you
An index moving from 100 to 110 means the same basket costs 10% more than in the base year. Even when inflation slows, the level stays elevated, so real purchasing power remains impaired unless wages catch up.
- A steepening slope in the index level marks a phase of accumulating price pressure.
- A level that flattens above its long-run trend signals disinflation coexisting with a heavy price burden.
- Base-year rebasing resets the index values, so avoid naive comparisons across rebased vintages.
Why the level and the growth rate answer different questions
The level and the year-over-year rate come from the same CPI but serve different purposes. The level gauges how much household spending power has been eroded, while the growth rate is the variable monetary policy actually reacts to.
- A high level with a slowing Korea CPI YoY means disinflation, not falling prices — an important distinction.
- As long as the level keeps climbing, margins for domestic consumer and retail names stay under pressure.
- Pairing this with the Korea Real Policy Rate helps judge whether tightening is adequate relative to accumulated inflation.
Common misreads and checkpoints
The most frequent mistake is declaring inflation beaten based on a single month of the index. Volatile items such as fresh food and energy can swing any given month.
- Prioritize the three-to-six-month slope of the level over one-month wiggles.
- Check whether Korea PPI YoY is leading the move to assess how durable the level trend is.
- Gaps between the index and perceived inflation often reflect basket-weight differences, not data errors.