Dutch Bank International: Bank of Korea expected to stay put as oil price ceiling may help maintain inflation rate near target.

Min Joo Kang of the Netherlands International Group said that despite the continuous rise in energy prices, the Bank of Korea may stand pat because the government's fuel price ceiling may keep inflation close to the 2% target level. The economist of the Netherlands International Group wrote in a report, "Inflation is expected to rise, but with government support, the increase should be limited." Kang expects the government to prepare an additional budget of about 200 trillion Korean won to fund temporary price ceilings for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene - the first such measure since 1997 - and support economic growth. The Netherlands International Group maintains its forecast for South Korea's inflation rate in 2026 at 2.2%.