Consumers' expected inflation hit a ten-year high in June amid growing concerns over rapid price hikes and their impact on the economy and people's livelihoods.

According to the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Wednesday, expected inflation, measuring consumers’ estimates on price increases in the next 12 months, stood at three-point-nine percent this month, up zero-point-six percentage points from May.

It is the highest level since April of 2012, when the comparative figure also registered three-point-nine percent. The monthly growth of six-tenths of a percentage point is also the highest ever since related data began to be compiled in 2008.

Hwang Hee-jin, a senior official of the Bank of Korea, said a significant change in the prices of day-to-day commodities appears to have made consumers more sensitive to inflation, while external factors such as international food price increases and supply chain disruptions also played a part.

The expected key interest rate index regarding how the benchmark rate will move in the future also hit a record high at 149, up by three points from May amid speculation that a series of key rate hikes will be made to counter inflation. Bloomberg earlier stated that it expects the BOK will raise its policy rate by as much as 50 basis points for the first time during its monetary policy meeting slated for July 14 and raise the rate three more times in six months. 

The estimated index for housing prices, on the other hand, plunged by 13 points from May amid a growing burden on mortgage payments.

The Composite Consumer Sentiment Index declined six-point-two points from May to 96-point-four. The index fell below 100 for the first time in 16 months. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

The latest BOK survey was conducted on two-thousand-500 households nationwide between June 13 and June 20.