South Korea's annual inflation rose at its fastest pace for 27 months in February due to soaring international commodity prices, figures showed Wednesday, raising pressure for an interest rate rise.

The consumer price index increased 4.5 per cent last month compared to a year earlier, Statistics Korea said. The figure stood at 4.1 per cent in January.

Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-Hyun convened a meeting Wednesday with nine other minister-level officials to discuss how to stabilise living costs.

The government has already pledged to minimise increases in public service charges and announced tariff cuts for some imports such as pork, butter and metals.

"Shocks from soaring international crude oil prices were bigger than expected," Yoon Jong-won, head of the finance ministry's economic policy bureau, was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying.

"We are paying close attention to the impact of oil prices on inflation as the unrest in the Middle East continues."

South Korea imports all its oil needs and more than 80 per cent of the total comes from the Middle East.

Compared to the previous month, consumer prices in February increased 0.8 per cent.

The central bank last month left interest rates unchanged after a 25 basis-point rate increase in January. The bank next meets on March 10.

"Now I see more chances for the consumer price index to rise by more than five percent in the early part of the second quarter if global oil prices stay above $100 a barrel for a prolonged time," HI Investment and Securities economist Park Sang-Hyun told Dow Jones Newswires.

Park said February trade figures released Tuesday showed that exports remain robust, meaning the central bank would be able to tighten policy without unduly dampening economic growth.

channelnewsasia.com