S.Korea April CPI growth hits over 13-yr high, tops expectations

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpSEOUL Reuters – South Koreas consumer prices in April rose much faster than expected and at their fastest pace in more than 13 years over a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday.p

pThe Statistics Korea data showed the countrys consumer price index CPI rose 4.8 in April from a year before, speeding up from a 4.1 rise in the previous month and far faster than a 4.4 rise tipped in a Reuters survey.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pIt was the fastest annual growth since October 2008 and stood above the central banks 2 target for a 13th consecutive month.p

pThe index rose 0.7 on a monthly basis, compared with a 0.4 rise tipped in the survey, after rising 0.7 in March.p

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pp Reporting by Jihoon Lee and Choonsik Yoo editing by Richard Pullinp

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