South Korea's import price growth accelerated last month due to higher raw material prices, the central bank said Wednesday.

In local currency terms, import prices gained 0.8 percent in January from a month earlier, up from a 0.2 percent on-month rise tallied in December, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The BOK attributed the January gain to a hike in global commodity prices such as crude oil and nonferrous metals. Dubai crude oil, the benchmark for South Korea, posted an average monthly price of 109.5 U.S. dollars per barrel in January, up 3.8 percent from a month before.

Import prices for raw materials increased 0.8 percent on-month in January after posting a 0.5 percent on-month decline a month before. Agricultural product prices jumped 1.7 percent over the cited period, with import prices for mining products rising 0.7 percent.

Intermediate goods prices advanced 1.1 percent on-month in January. Prices for oil and chemical product prices expanded 6.6 percent and 1.2 percent respectively, with that for nonferrous metal products jumping 3.8 percent.

Meanwhile, prices for capital goods such as machinery and equipment declined 0.7 percent on-month in January, but consumer goods prices gained 0.5 percent over the same period.

In U.S. dollar terms, import prices gained 1.0 percent in January from a month earlier, indicating that South Korean currency appreciated against the dollar.