SEOUL, Feb 3 (Reuters) - South Korea's consumer inflation eased to a five-month low in January, largely in line with market expectations, government data showed on Tuesday.

The consumer price index rose 2.0% from a year earlier, compared with gains of 2.3% in the previous month and a median 2.05% increase tipped in a Reuters poll of economists.

It marked the slowest year-on-year rise since August, after four months above the central bank's medium-term target of 2.0%.

The index rose 0.4% on a monthly basis, after rising 0.3% in the previous month, also roughly matching the median forecast of a 0.44% rise.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Chris Reese)