South Korea seen raising interest rates

Growth outlook: People shop at a supermarket in Seoul. Though the economy is under constant pressure from the Covid-19 resurgence, it is seen achieving growth of more than 4% this year. — Bloomberg

SEOUL: South Korea is expected to raise interest rates on tomorrow, making it the first major central bank in Asia to do so in the pandemic era as surging household debt and home prices threaten financial stability.

However, the decision could be a close call with only 16 of 30 analysts surveyed by Reuters expecting the Bank of Korea (BoK) to raise its base rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%, while the other 14 see the bank keeping it unchanged at the record low.