South Korea's December inflation rate may rise, prompting central bank to suspend January rate cut

South Korea's consumer inflation is likely to pick up in December after a weaker-than-expected increase in November, said Bum Ki Son, an economist at Barclays. Two consecutive months of possible rising inflation could cause the Bank of Korea to pause its rate cuts in January. He expects the Bank of Korea to cut rates again in February, May and October. The benchmark consumer price index rose 1.5% in November from a year earlier, faster than October's 1.3% increase but below the median market consensus of 1.7%. This is still below the Bank of Korea's 2% annual inflation target. (Jinshi)