By Cynthia Kim
SEOUL, Dec 17 (Reuters) – South Korea’s central bank said on Wednesday headline inflation next year could exceed earlier forecasts if the won stays at its current level against the dollar.
“If the KRW/USD exchange rate continues to stay at the current high level of around 1,470 won throughout next year, the consumer price growth rate could rise to the early-to-mid 2% range, slightly surpassing our current projections,” the Bank of Korea said in a biannual report on inflation.
It said a sustained dollar-won rate near the current level of 1,470 per dollar could trigger a spillover effect on consumer prices and raise domestic inflation.
South Korea’s headline inflation rose 2.4% in November from a year earlier and stayed above the BOK’s target level of 2% for a third straight month.
Governor Rhee Chang-yong said the bank would ensure that dollar outflows, which are expected to occur with a promised $350 billion investment fund as part of the country’s trade deal with the U.S., do not hurt foreign exchange stability.
Rhee also said it was time for the National Pension Service to pay “more attention to the macroeconomy as it is now a major player in the market, unlike a decade ago,” as he repeated calls for the NPS to use currency hedging when buying overseas assets.
The NPS, the world’s third-largest pension fund, has been increasing overseas equity investment in recent years by buying dollars in the onshore foreign exchange market, helping drive the won lower.
On Wednesday, the won weakened 0.5% to 1,480.4 per dollar, near its 16-year low.
(Reporting by Cynthia KimEditing by Ed Davies)
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