Standard & Poor's says South Korea’s inflation will reach five percent this year. 

The global credit rating agency offered the prediction in a quarterly Asia-Pacific report issued on Monday, saying an increase in energy and raw material prices has accelerated inflation and will continue to do so. 

It also said South Korea’s inflation rate will drop to two-point-four percent next year, to one-point-eight percent in 2024 and one-point-six percent in 2025. 

As for economic growth, S&P said Asia’s fourth largest economy will grow two-point-six percent this year, an increase of one-tenth of a percentage point from its previous outlook in April. 

The agency said that although South Korea’s export momentum has weakened, the impact on the economy has been offset by a gradual recovery of domestic demand from the COVID-19 pandemic.