SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer prices rose 2.1 percent in September from a year earlier as fruit prices surged ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the South Korean version of Thanksgiving Day, a government report showed Thursday.
It marked the third straight month of consumer price inflation above 2 percent, according to Statistics Korea. It was the first time since June 2012 that the inflation rose more than 2 percent for three months in a row.
Fruit prices jumped 21.5 percent ahead of the 10-day traditional South Korean holiday, during which family members come together from near and far away to share food and give thanks to ancestors.
Higher consumer prices tended to increase living costs for the general public as South Korean families traditionally spend much money during one of the country's most important holidays.
Prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products advanced 4.8 percent in September from a year earlier, raising the overall headline inflation by 0.41 percentage points.
Oil product prices gained 6.1 percent this month on expensive crude oil, posting the fastest increase since May. Enditem
