The South Korean central bank, Bank of Korea, is likely to keep its official bank rate on hold next week. According to a Scotiabank research report, the central bank will maintain the key rate at 1.25 percent during its meeting. According to a median forecast in a recent Bloomberg poll, the interest rate is unlikely to change until the second half of next year, when gradual rate hikes are anticipated.
During its last meeting, the Bank of Korea slightly revised up its growth and inflation projections for this year to 2.6 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. Given the election of President Moon Jae-in, the focus is expected to shift to fiscal policy in the future. Moon’s election campaign vowed a KRW 10 trillion stimulus program of comparable magnitude to previous year’s stimulus plan and focused on job creation, noted Scotiabank.
