South Korea's October inflation rate falls back to 2.8%, still above target level.

South Korea's headline inflation rate eased in October from the previous month but remained above the Bank of Korea's 2% target. This could further support the country's continued monetary tightening. The Bank of Korea will make its rate decision this month, and policymakers will closely watch these data and consider whether to raise interest rates to curb price pressures driven by high energy costs and strong economic growth. Data released Tuesday by Statistics Korea showed that the benchmark consumer price index rose 2.8% year-on-year in October, down from the 2.9% increase in September. The latest figure was exactly in line with the median forecast of a poll of nine economists. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices rose 0.2% in October, also in line with survey expectations. In September, the figure was a 0.3% increase. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core consumer prices rose 2.8% year-on-year in October and 0.4% month-on-month.