South Korea: South Korea's consumer prices recorded an increase at the 1 percent level for the first time in five months during May, while the ongoing depreciation of the Korean won continued to elevate import costs, as per government data released on Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, consumer prices, which serve as a primary indicator of inflation, rose by 1.9 percent compared to the previous year, based on the figures provided by Statistics Korea. This marks a shift as consumer inflation had previously stayed above the Bank of Korea's 2 percent target for four consecutive months up to April, before seeing a slight decline in May.

The statistics agency pointed out that the latest rise in prices was largely due to the weakening of the local currency, which increased the costs associated with importing food, as well as agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products. Additionally, an upsurge in service prices contributed to the overall inflationary pressure.