Oil-fueled inflation balloons above 3% for first time in 26 months

Consumer prices hit 26-month high, fueling rate hike expectations - The Korea Times

South Korea's May CPI hit 3.1% (26-month high) on oil prices (+24.2%), signaling Bank of Korea rate hikes starting July. Rate increases constrain venture funding and debt capacity for tech teams; rising energy costs make cloud infrastructure and AI workloads more expensive.