South Korea’s CPI of pharmaceutical products remains flat, while that of painkillers, cold medicines, and oriental medicine soars

[Newsmp] While Korea’s consumer price index (CPI) is on the rise, there is no significant change in the pharmaceutical products’ CPI.

Even so, the CPI of anti-inflammatory drugs, oriental medicine, and cold medicines, which had been out of stock after vaccination, accelerated.

Statistics Korea said the CPI stood at 108.22 in June, up 0.6% from the previous month, and it has maintained an increase of 0.6% for the sixth consecutive month this year.

The CPI rose 6.0% in June from a year earlier from 3.1%. Compared to the end of last year (December), the increase expanded to 4.0%.

On the other hand, the CPI of pharmaceutical products fluctuated from 100.35 in June 2021, 100.24 in December 2021, and 100.20 in March 2022, and stood at 100.42 in June.

This is an increase of 0.07% on the year last month, 0.18% from the end of last year, and 0.14% from the previous month, showing no significant change.

But the other items are opposed. Compared to the same period last year, the increase in oriental medicine was the largest at 3.66%, and painkillers jumped more than 3% to 3.5%.

Followed by painkillers, cold medicines recorded an increase of 2.73%, anti-inflammatory drugs 2.38%, digestants 2.24%, antitussive drugs 1.72%, gastrointestinal medicines 1.27%, vitamin products 0.99%, skin disease medications 0.86%, and oral disinfectants 0.43%.

However, the CPI of hospital medications and prescription drugs fell 1.93% and 1.43%.

Compared to the end of last year, the increase in cold medicines ramped up by 2.63%, reflecting the out-of-stock situation due to the spread of the omicron variant.

Oriental medicine also rose 2.54% during the same period, digestants 1.71%, and anti-inflammatory drugs 1.47%.

Painkillers climbed 0.88%, gastrointestinal medicines 0.64%, vitamin products 0.57%, skin disease medications 0.51%, and oral disinfectants 0.26%, and hospital medications and prescription drugs lost 1.20% and 0.65%.

Compared to May, anti-inflammatory drugs rose 1.04%, the only increase above 1%, followed by cold medicines 0.51%, digestants 0.44%, and oriental medicine 0.41%.

In this period, vitamin products advanced 0.27%, gastrointestinal medicines 0.12%, skin disease medications 0.09%, oral disinfectants 0.01%, and prescription drugs and hospital medications fell 0.03% and 0.02%.