Seoul: South Korea's consumer prices increased more than 2 percent from a year earlier last month on a weak local currency that pushed up import prices, data showed Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 2.2 percent on-year in January, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the first time in five months that prices increased by more than 2 percent.

South Korea's consumer inflation has remained below 3 percent since April and below the central bank's 2 percent target since September, when it grew 1.6 percent on-year. The inflation rate dipped further to 1.3 percent in October before slightly rising to a 1.5 percent increase the following month. The rate came to 1.9 percent in December.