[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s consumer price growth continued to stay above the 1 percent mark in July bolstered by agricultural goods and the service sector, government data showed on Aug. 1.

The country’s consumer price index climbed 1.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the same pace from the previous month’s on-year gain, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The July figure is well below the Bank of Korea’s target of 2 percent for the year, stoking speculation that the central bank’s monetary tightening may be pushed forward at a gradual pace in the coming months.

Prices of agricultural goods rose 1.5 percent on-year last month, compared with a 1.8 percent on-year gain tallied for June, with those for industrial goods increasing 2 percent from the year before, compared with a 1.8 percent on-year rise reported for the previous month, the agency said.

The statistical office said prices of service charges advanced 1.4 percent last month, vis-a-vis a 1.6 percent on-year increase in June.

From a month earlier, the index rose 0.2 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices, grew 1.1 percent on-year.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)