Hikes in price likely to spark inflation

Due to the rising prices of imported energy sources such as crude oil and liquefied natural gas, the prices of raw materials have continually risen for two months in a row, making it likely that consumer prices will follow suit. According to the Bank of Korea Thursday in its outlook on the fluctuation of prices by processing steps for July, the prices of raw materials, starting with crude oil and liquefied natural gas, have risen 3.1% from the previous month, an 22.3% increase over last June. The prices of domestic raw materials remained unchanged from the previous month, while that of imported raw materials rose by 3.8%, indicating that imported raw materials are responsible for the price increase.