Pushed by food bills, South Korea's consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.4% on year in November, unchanged from the October rate, the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MDS) reported on Tuesday.
The nation's central bank, the Bank of Korea, has a 2% annual inflation target on the CPI.
On month, South Korea's CPI actually declined 0.2% from October, after a 0.3% gain in October from September.
The nation's CPI-core, which strips out certain food and energy bills, rose 2% on year in November, and fell 0.1% from October, MDS said.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage bills, a large component of the CPI, rose 4.7% on year in November, pushing the overall index higher.
The Bank of Korea last week modestly raised its CPI outlook, projecting inflation to average 2.1% in both 2025 and 2026, up from previous projections of 2.0% this year and 1.9% for next year.
"Looking ahead, the inflation outlook will be influenced by domestic and global economic conditions, movements in the exchange rate and global oil prices, and the government's price-stabilization measures," said the Bank of Korea.
The central bank also slightly boosted its economic growth forecast, expecting a 1% expansion of the nation's gross domestic product in 2025 and a 1.8% gain for 2026, up from August forecasts of 0.9% and 1.6%, respectively.
The Bank of Korea also voted to keep its policy interest rate unchanged at 2.50%, citing inflation concerns and moderate economic growth.
The central bank had lowered its key rate from 3.5% in late 2024 to 2.5% in mid-2025, but has kept the rate stable at its last four policy-making sessions.
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