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THE INVESTOR] Korea’s credit card spending jumped 13.7 percent in March from a year ago, data showed on May 17.
Credit card purchases totaled 66.4 trillion won (US$59.50 billion) in March, according to the data from the Credit Finance Association.
The surge was attributed largely to increased consumer prices, including oil costs, and higher demand for Koreans’ overseas trips.
“Consumer prices rose sharply compared with a year earlier. Gasoline and diesel prices also went up, and more Koreans traveled abroad,” the association said.
Inflation climbed 2.2 percent on-year in March, compared with a 0.8 percent on-year increase a year earlier.
Gasoline and diesel prices at local petrol stations rose 11.6 percent and 17.6 percent in March from a year ago, respectively, with air passenger traffic expanding 8.9 percent to 8.51 million.
By Alex Lee and newswires (
alexlee@heraldcorp.com)