SEOUL, Feb 10 (Reuters) - South Korea's finance minister
reaffirmed on Friday his view that consumer prices would ease
around the April-May months, a week after data showed the
country's annual inflation had unexpectedly ticked up in
January.
"The inflation data will get better to a level we need to
worry about less than at present," Minister Choo Kyung-ho said
at a forum hosted by senior domestic media editors, while giving
no specific forecast.
South Korea's consumer price index rose 5.2% in January from
a year before, picking up speed from a 5.0% gain in December
2022 and above market expectations for 5.0% growth.
Choo said he has been meeting frequently with the head of
the central bank to exchange views on current issues, but
declined to comment on interest rates, noting that monetary
policy was the preserve of the Bank of Korea.
He said an anticipated pick-up in China's economic growth
after its shift away from COVID-related restrictions would be
positive for South Korea's economy, although the country needs
to continue efforts to diversify export markets.
(Reporting by Younah Moon; Writing by Choonsik Yoo
Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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