Prices of clothes, shoes in South Korea spike at fastest pace in 31 yrs

Prices of clothes and shoes in South Korea increased at the fastest pace in 31 years last month as a growing number of people enjoyed outdoor activities after the years-long Covid-19 pandemic, government data showed on Tuesday.

The price index for clothing and shoes rose 8 per cent in May from a year ago, marking the fastest on-year growth since May 1992, when it reached 8.3 per cent, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

Inflation of such semi-durable goods has been on a steady increase over the past year, having risen to around 5 per cent in November and 6 per cent in March from 1.8 per cent in April last year, reports Yonhap News Agency.

In particular, prices of gloves jumped 18.1 per cent in May, those of T-shirts gained 14.3 per cent and those of dresses rose 13.7 per cent last month.

The growth in prices of garments and shoes is much higher than that of the country's consumer price index, which rose a seven-month low of 3.3 per cent last month.

Monthly inflation in Asia's fourth-largest economy peaked at 6.3 per cent in July last year and has been on a steady decline since then.

South Korea has been returning to pre-pandemic normalcy since the beginning of this year, lifting nearly all Covid-19 restrictions, including indoor mask mandates, from June.