S. Korea's consumer prices rise 0.7 percent in July

South Korea's consumer prices rose 0. 7 percent in July from a year earlier, keeping the zero-percent increase for eight straight months, a government report showed Tuesday.

The consumer price inflation fell below 1 percent in December 2014 and stayed at the zero-percent level for eight months in a row, according to Statistics Korea.

Core consumer prices, which exclude agricultural and oil products, gained 2 percent on-year in July, staying above 2 percent for the seventh consecutive month.

The OECD-method core prices, excluding food and energy costs, increased 2.5 percent last month, keeping the 2-percent level for the past seven months.

The so-called livelihood prices, which reflect daily necessities, slid 0.1 percent in July from a year earlier, but fresh food prices, which gauge fruits and vegetables, gained 6 percent, keeping an upward trend for the third straight month.

Prices for agricultural, livestock and fisheries products advanced 3.7 percent in July from a year earlier due to the effect of drought, but the farm goods prices slid 0.3 percent compared with the previous month after the shower eased the dry weather last month. Endi