Next Week's South Korea Economic Outlook to be Released... 'Stock Manipulation Response Team' Also Activated

[Financial News] Next week (July 28~August 1) the latest indicators that can gauge the real economy flow such as production, consumption, and investment, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s forecast for South Korea's economic growth rate will be announced. The U.S. policy interest rate decision and the financial authorities' 'Joint Response Team to Eradicate Stock Manipulation' will also be fully activated.
Statistics Korea will release the 'June Industrial Activity Trends' on the 31st. On the same day, the Ministry of Economy and Finance's 'June National Tax Revenue Status' will also be released.
Statistics Korea will also announce the '2024 Population and Housing Census Results' on the 29th. It will provide insights into the total population of our country and the age-specific population, addressing the low birth rate and aging situation.
On the same day, the IMF's World Economic Outlook will be released. It includes the growth rate forecast for our country. The IMF previously lowered South Korea's growth rate forecast for this year from 2.0% to 1.0% in its April outlook. The global economic growth rate forecast was also adjusted downward from 3.3% to 2.8%.
The Bank of Korea will announce the 'June Weighted Average Interest Rate of Financial Institutions' on the 30th. In May, due to the declining market interest rates, both loan and deposit rates in the banking sector fell. In particular, the household loan interest rate based on new handling amount fell by 0.10%p to 4.26% per annum from 4.36% in the previous month, showing a decline for the sixth consecutive month. Among household loans, the mortgage loan rate decreased by 0.11%p from 3.98% to 3.87%, and the general credit loan rate decreased by 0.07%p from 5.28% to 5.21%. On the other hand, the corporate loan interest rate rose by 0.02%p to 4.16%, rebounding for the first time in half a year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting for two days from July 29 to 31, Korean time. Through this, it will decide whether to adjust the current policy interest rate of 4.25∼4.50%. The market is predominantly expecting a freeze.
The Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Korea Exchange will activate the Joint Response Team to Eradicate Stock Manipulation on the 30th. This is to eradicate unfair trading emphasized by President Lee Jae-myung. For unfair trading, new administrative sanctions will be applied according to the 'One Strike Out' principle. Unlike the 'Korean version of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)', the Joint Response Team is a temporary organization. The financial authorities plan to decide on its permanence based on its performance.



kjh0109@fnnews.com Kwon Jun-ho Reporter