People shop at a supermarket in Seoul in this photo taken on April 23. Yonhap

Korea's inflation rose 2.9 percent in April on-year, marking the first time in three months that the index fell below 3 percent, data showed Thursday.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, fell 0.2 percentage point last month from the reading in March, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

In January, inflation fell below 3 percent for the first time since July 2023 to come to 2.8 percent, but high prices of fruits, farm produce and energy caused inflationary pressure to flare up again. The February reading was 3.1 percent.

Farm produce, particularly fruits, has led the growth in inflation.

Prices of agricultural, livestock and fishery products rose 10.6 percent on-year last month.

Agricultural products, in particular, spiked 20.3 percent, which accounted for a 0.76 percentage point increase in the overall inflation.

Of major items, prices of apples surged 80.8 percent and prices of pears soared 102.9 percent, or a record high level.

"Despite the government's subsidies for fruit purchases, the sheer amount of fruit stocks is not enough due to poor harvests. So high prices are expected to continue for some time," an agency official said.

Prices of industrial products added 2.2 percent, as those of petroleum products added 1.3 percent on-year amid instability in global oil prices due to the Middle East crisis.

Dubai crude, Korea's benchmark, rose to $89.17 per barrel on average in April from $78.85 in January, $80.88 in February and $84.18 in March, according to government data.

Service prices increased 2.2 percent on-year in April.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, went up 2.3 percent on-year in April.

Prices of daily necessities — 144 items closely related to people's everyday lives, such as food, clothing and housing — climbed 3.5 percent last month, the data showed.

The government has said consumer prices are forecast to ease at a slower pace than earlier expected before reaching the target rate of 2 percent by around the end of 2024.

The finance ministry expects this year's prices to rise 2.6 percent.(Yonhap)