Consumer prices rose nearly six percent on-year last month, but the growth pace slowed for the first time in seven months.

According to Statistics Korea on Friday, the country's consumer price index stood at 108-point-62 in August, up five-point-seven percent from a year earlier.

Despite increasing over last year, the August figure represented a slowing rate of growth for the first time since January following a rate of six-point-three percent in July, the largest on-year gain in 23 years and eight months since November 1998.

Prices of commodities rose seven-point-six percent in August from a year earlier. The prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products rose seven percent on-year, with vegetable prices soaring nearly 28 percent.

The prices of industrial goods also rose seven percent, while the prices of petroleum products soared almost 20 percent on-year.

Service prices also gained four-point-one percent from a year earlier in August.

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