South Korea's consumer prices are projected to rise 1 percent next year before further recovering to a 1.3-percent on-year increase the following year, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.

The central bank said it will maintain its monetary easing policy, noting the estimates still fall short of its long-term inflation target of 2 percent.

"In the January-November period of this year, consumer prices rose 0.4 percent from the same period last year, far below the inflation target," it said in a biennial report on consumer prices.

The BOK mainly attributed the low price hikes to weak demand, along with downward pressure from the supply and government side.

"Considering such circumstances, the BOK plans to maintain the easing stance of its monetary policy so the increase in consumer prices may approach the target rate from a long-term perspective," it added.

The BOK twice slashed its policy rate this year to 1.50 percent in July and 1.25 percent in October, matching the all-time low that had been seen once in 2016.

The country's consumer prices dipped 0.4 percent from a year earlier in September, marking the lowest on-year growth in the country's history.

A 0.4 percent growth this year projected by the BOK would mark the lowest on-year gain in inflation at least since 1984.

The central bank also cited weak global oil prices as one of reasons for the low inflation this year, noting oil import prices in the first 11 months of the year dropped 4.8 percent from a 27.1 percent on-year spike last year.

It said global oil prices are expected to continue slipping next year, again putting downward pressure on South Korea's consumer prices.

"The increase in consumer prices is expected to be higher than this year in 2020 as the downward pressure from the supply side will likely be eased, although the upward pressure from the demand side will continue to remain weak," the BOK said in its report.

The central bank said consumer price hikes will accelerate in 2021 on improved economic conditions at home and abroad.

Meanwhile, the BOK said the country's expected inflation may have been slightly lowered following years of low inflation, but insisted the experts' expectation of future inflation remains largely intact.

South Korea's consumer price growth has remained below the 2 percent target since 2013 when consumer prices rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)