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S.Korea Dec inflation reinforces rate rise view
Reuters - Friday, December 31
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* Dec annual consumer inflation 3.5 pct vs 3.3 pct in Nov
* Tops upper end of forecasts in Reuters poll
* Reinforces view for rate rise as early as February
By Cheon Jong-woo and Yoo Choonsik
SEOUL, Dec 31 - South Korean consumer inflation quickened in December more than expected from the previous month led by food and energy, reinforcing the market's view the central bank will raise interest rates in early 2011.
The consumer price index rose 3.5 percent in December from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, topping the upper end of analysts' forecasts in a Reuters survey that ranged between 3.0 percent and 3.4 percent.
Analysts said the rise in inflation would make the Bank of Korea more confident of the need to tighten up monetary policy despite lingering uncertainty such as tension with North Korea and Europe's debt problems.
The central bank's inflation target is between 2 percent and 4 percent.
"The policymakers' warnings of inflation are materialising. Given this and other recent economic data, I think the Bank of Korea has secured enough reasons to raise interest rates," said Kong Dong-rak, a fixed-income analyst at Taurus Investment & Securities.
"I think it will raise rates in February at the earliest after sending a signal in January."
South Korean financial markets were closed on Friday as they are on the last day of each year.
In December, foods prices rose 6.4 percent while transportation fuel costs gained 4.9 percent respectively from a year earlier, the Statistics Korea data showed.
Consumer prices rose 0.6 percent in December from November without seasonal adjustments, the data showed, compared with the median forecast in the Reuters survey for a 0.3 percent gain.
Annual core inflation -- which strips off volatile food and fuel prices -- stood at 2.0 percent in December, compared with 1.8 percent in November. It set the fastest pace in 11 months.
The data came a day after Taiwan's central bank raised its policy interest rate by 12.5 basis points to 1.625 percent to fight inflation pressures. [ID:nTOE6BS05W]
In South Korea, solid economic growth and signs of rising inflation have prompted the central bank to raise interest rates twice this year and analysts expect more to come from as early as February next year.
The Bank of Korea last raised the benchmark interest rate in November by 25 basis points to 2.50 percent and next reviews the rate on Jan. 13.
The central bank forecast recently that growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy would slow to 0.4 percent in the final quarter of this year from 0.7 percent in the third quarter. But it saw the economy regaining momentum soon and expanding by more than 1 percent in the first quarter of 2011.
South Korea was among the top performing economies in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development group last year and is tipped to be one of the top three this year.
For the whole of 2010, the consumer price index rose by an average of 2.9 percent from last year, the data showed, matching the central bank's recent estimate.
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