A customer shops at a supermarket in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapInflation is expected to edge up in August from the previous month due to a base effect, while lingering Middle East tensions continue to fuel cost-push inflationary pressure, the central bank said Tuesday."Consumer prices in July slowed as prices of petroleum and agricultural products fell," Deputy Gov. Lee Ji-ho said during a meeting to review inflation trends. "However, core inflation rose slightly due to higher prices of durable goods amid cost-push inflation.""In August, inflation is projected to accelerate, driven by the base effect of large-scale discount programs offered by some mobile carriers last year," he added.Earlier in the day, government data showed that the country's consumer prices rose 2.8 percent last month from a year earlier, falling below the 3 percent mark for the first time in three months.The slowdown came as oil prices stabilized following a short-lived ceasefire in the Middle East, while government oil price caps also helped ease inflationary pressure.Oil product prices rose 15.5 percent from a year earlier in July, remaining elevated but slowing from a 24.7 percent on-year increase in June.Agricultural product prices fell 2.2 percent from a year earlier.Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, advanced 2.6 percent compared with July last year, the sharpest growth since the 2.8 percent growth posted in December 2023.