S.Korea's consumer prices rise 0.5 pct in May

South Korea's consumer prices rose 0. 5 percent in May from a year earlier, keeping the zero-percent level for six straight months, a government report showed Tuesday.

The consumer price inflation stayed below 1 percent last month after falling to 0.8 percent in December last year, according to Statistics Korea.

Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile agricultural and oil products, gained 2.1 percent in May from a year earlier, staying above 2 percent for five months in a row.

The OECD-method core consumer prices excluding food and energy prices increased 2.2 percent on-year in May, staying above the 2 percent for the fifth straight month. Endi