Seoul: Consumer inflation is projected to rebound to around 2 percent in September as the temporary factors behind last month's slowdown dissipate, the central bank said Tuesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Bank of Korea (BOK) Deputy Governor Kim Woong made the assessment during a meeting to review inflationary trends. Government data showed that consumer prices gained 1.7 percent from a year earlier in August, marking the slowest growth in nine months.

Kim stated that while heavy rains and heat waves increased prices of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products, a sharp decline in mobile phone charges contributed to reducing last month's inflation by 0.6 percentage point. He further anticipated that consumer prices would rise to around 2 percent again in September as these temporary downward factors disappear. He noted that inflation is expected to remain around 2 percent for the foreseeable future, considering weak demand and stable global oil prices.

South Korea's leading wireless carrier, SK Telecom, had provided a 50 percent discount on August bills for its over 20 million users following a data breach incident.

The BOK recently revised its forecast for this year's consumer inflation to 2 percent, up from its previous projection of 1.9 percent.