South Korea's producer price growth accelerated last month due to gains in farm goods prices and higher global oil prices, the central bank said Thursday.

The producer price index (PPI), a barometer of future consumer price inflation, advanced 0.7 percent in January from a month earlier, up from a 0.2 percent on-month rise tallied in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year before, the producer prices gained 3.4 percent last month.

The faster growth was mainly attributed to gains in prices for vegetables and fruits amid higher global oil prices, according to the BOK.

By item, prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products rose 0.5 percent on-month in January. Prices of vegetables and fruits surged 10.7 percent and 11.1 percent respectively, but those for livestock products plunged 9.8 percent over the cited period.

Prices for manufactured goods gained 0.7 percent on-month in January as higher crude oil prices boosted prices for petroleum and chemical products that rose 2 percent and 2.6 percent each last month.

Service prices advanced 0.9 percent on-month in January, marking the first monthly rise in three months. Prices for financial services gained 2.2 percent, with those for real estate services inching up 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, prices for electricity, water and gas edged up 0.1 percent on-month in January, sharply down from a 2.6 percent on- month jump recorded in the previous month.