Consumer inflation rate remains below 1% level for 4 straight months

South Korea's consumer inflation rate remained below the 1 percent level for the fourth straight month in March, government data showed Wednesday, fueling concerns that the country could face deflation.

Consumer prices grew 0.4 percent in March from a year ago, after a 0.5 percent on-year gain in February and a 0.8 percent hike both in January and December last year, the nation's statistical office, Statistics Korea, said in a report.

The 0.4 percent growth in March marks the lowest since a 0.3 percent on-year gain in July 1999.

Consumer prices rose 1.3 percent for the second consecutive year in 2014, the lowest pace since 1999 when it gained 0.8 percent.

AJP