The reading marks the highest since September 2017, when the comparable figure was 2.1 percent.

From a month earlier, the index fell 0.2 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices, rose 1.1 percent on-year.

The October figure is on par with the Bank of Korea's target of 2 percent for the year.

Prices of agricultural goods soared 8.1 percent on-year last month, compared with a 7.1 percent on-year gain tallied for September.

Prices of industrial goods increased 2 percent from the year before, compared with a 1.9 percent on-year rise reported for the previous month, the agency said.

The statistical office said prices of service charges moved up 1.3 percent last month, vis-a-vis a 1.4 percent on-year increase in September.

The country's consumer price growth had stayed above the 1 percent level, but a rise in agricultural products and oil prices pushed up the overall inflation last month, the statistics office said.

The price of oil-related goods advanced 11.8 percent last month.

Oil prices are hovering above $80 per barrel, and domestic fuel prices have recently risen sharply, raising concerns that the spike in costs may put a damper on Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The fuel tax will be lowered by 15 percent for six months, reducing the tax burden for people by 2 trillion won, the government said earlier. (Yonhap)