South Korea’s consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in four months in October on higher prices of farm products, but they remained within the central bank’s inflation target band, a government report showed Thursday.

The country’s consumer prices index rose 2.1 percent in October from a year earlier, compared with a 2 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The index fell 0.1 percent from September when the consumer prices rose 0.7 percent on-month.

The so-called core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices, rose 1.5 percent on-year last month, which also represents an acceleration from a 1.4 percent increase in September.

The October inflation picked up, but it still remained within the central bank’s 2-4 percent inflation target band for 2010-2012.

The Bank of Korea forecast inflation in 2012 would grow 2.3 percent.

The statistics agency said that the prices of fresh food products jumped 12 percent in October from a year earlier. But they fell 3 percent compared with the previous month when harvests were hit hard by typhoons.

Despite a pick-up in consumer prices, the BOK is likely to stand pat on the key rate at 2.75 percent on Nov. 9 in a bid to prop up the slowing economy, analysts say.

Last month, the central bank lowered the benchmark 7-day repo rate after cutting it in July as the country is facing growing downside risks, beset by the prolonged eurozone debt crisis and China’s slowing economy.

“The consumer prices picked up to the 2-percent range, but demand-pull price pressure is weak as the local economy is losing steam,” said Jun Min-kyu, a senior economist at the Korea Investment Corp.

“The key rate will likely be frozen at the current level ahead of the December presidential election, and the BOK may resume the easing cycle early next year to shore up the economy.” (Yonhap News)