South Korea's headline inflation rose above 3% again in August after easing the previous month, supporting the central bank's back-to-back rate increases to curb price pressures.

The acceleration could bolster the case for the Bank of Korea to step up the pace of policy tightening. Inflation has topped the bank's 2.0% annual target since March.

The consumer-price index rose 3.1% from a year earlier, accelerating from 2.8% in July, the Ministry of Data and Statistics said Wednesday.

The reading was below the median forecast of 3.3% by 13 economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

Prices rose 0.2% from the previous month in August, compared with the poll's forecast for a 0.4% increase. They fell 0.2% in July.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.4% on year in August and 0.2% on month. The index rose 2.6% on year and 0.4% on month in July.

Policymakers have focused on underlying inflation, which has remained at or above the 2% target for nearly a year.

Services-price growth remained elevated in August. Mobile-communications-service prices jumped 27% from a year earlier, largely due to a low comparison base after domestic mobile carriers offered fee discounts in 2025.

Fuel-prices growth accelerated, with gasoline and diesel prices rising 12% and 20%, respectively, from a year earlier.

Economic growth has strengthened on robust semiconductor and electronics exports fueled by the artificial-intelligence boom. Policymakers are watching for spillovers into wages and consumer prices.

The BOK last week raised rates for a second straight meeting and increased its 2026 growth and core-inflation forecasts.

Gov. Shin Hyun-song said the bank acted preemptively to prevent price pressures from spreading and expects inflation to remain above target for a considerable period.

The BOK now expects the economy to grow 3.3% this year, up from its May forecast of 2.6%. It expects core inflation to average 2.5%, compared with its previous projection of 2.4%.

Shin said further rate increases are likely, with the pace depending on incoming data.