SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s consumer inflation slowed for a fifth consecutive month in June to the weakest level in 21 months, official data showed on Tuesday.

The consumer price index rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, compared with an increase of 3.3% in May and a median forecast of 2.85% in a Reuters survey of economists.

It marked the weakest annual increase since September 2021, according to Statistics Korea.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, slowed to 3.5% from 3.9% a month before, marking the slowest annual rise since May, 2022.

The headline index was flat on a monthly basis, compared with a 0.3% rise in the previous month and a 0.2% increase expected by economists.

South Korea’s central bank has been on hold since its last interest rate hike in January and its tightening campaign is widely expected to be over. The bank next meets on July 13.