Consumer prices stabilize in November

Thanks to the falls in prices of agricultural and industrial goods, consumer prices stabilized in November.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy announced Thursday that consumer prices fell 0.4 percent from October to November. October also saw a drop of 0.3 percent in consumer prices from a month earlier. The consumer price index for living necessities also fell 0.7 percent from October to November.

Consumer prices in November marked an increase of 2.8 percent from the end of last year and of 2.6 percent from the end of November last year. The average growth rate of consumer prices posted 2.2 percent from January through November compared to the same period last year.

Prices for agricultural products fell 2.7 percent due to drops in the prices of cabbage, leeks, apples, pears and eggs, while those of industrial goods declined 0.4 percent due to falls in the prices of gasoline and shoes. Public utility charges rose 0.5 percent, housing fees 0.3 percent and service charges 0.1 percent.

Kwon Soon-Hwal shkwon@donga.com