SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's inflation rate accelerated in June, the government said Friday, as higher interest rates have yet to rein in rising prices.

The country's consumer price index rose 4.4 percent amid more expensive food and transportation compared with the same month last year, the government's Statistics Korea announced in a monthly report. The index increased 0.2 percent from the previous month.

Inflation has now exceeded the top of the central bank's inflation "tolerance range" for six straight months. That range is plus or minus one percentage point from its inflation target of 3 percent.

The latest figure comes a day after the South Korean government raised its inflation forecast for this year to 4 percent from the previous expected figure of about 3 percent.

Other countries in Asia are also battling rising prices. Inflation in China hit 5.5 percent in May, a 34–month high driven by double–digit surges in food costs. China is expected to announce inflation in June surged above 6 percent.

South Korea's central bank has raised its key interest rate five times since July last year in a bid to stem price gains, though pressures are continuing.

So–called core inflation, which strips out volatile agriculture and oil prices, also rose in June, increasing 3.7 percent from the year before.

"The inflation rebound is broad–based," Goldman Sachs economist Kwon Goohoon wrote in a report after the announcement of the June numbers.

Inflation peaked at 4.7 percent in March and slowed the following two months, coming in at 4.1 percent in May, before speeding up again in June.

After raising its benchmark base rate to 3.25 percent last month, the Bank of Korea's rate–setting Monetary Policy Committee said that inflationary pressures were expected to continue.

The committee also expressed concern about the outlook for core inflation, saying it was possible it could keep rising.

The International Monetary Fund last month expressed concerns about inflation in South Korea and urged a further tightening, saying that "monetary conditions remain loose."

The central bank's rate committee next meets July 14.

Kwon of Goldman Sachs expects the BOK to bring its key rate to 3.75 percent by the end of this year, with the next increase of 0.25 percentage point coming as early as August.

The government said Thursday that it plans to keep inflation below 4 percent for this year through measures including improving distribution and promoting fair competition.

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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach in Shanghai contributed to this report.