Presenting the bank's quarterly inflation report, Mr King said increases in VAT and petrol costs would push up prices.
Mr King said the UK's economy continues to bump along the bottom but he expects what he describes as a 'gradual recovery' from recession over the coming year.
That recovery has been slower than the Bank of England - and the British government - had hoped.
Britain's manufacturing sector last year recorded its worst year since the late 1940s.
Mr King said inflation would spike at about 3.5% early this year but would then quickly fall back below 2%.
The Bank's forecast also signals that interest rates - currently at 0.5% - may be slower to rise than many in the City expect.
