Asia week ahead: Korea rate call, data from China and India in Stock News 13/07/2026 South Korea: BoK to raise rates 25bps amid firming inflation South Korea’s inflation pressures have broadened and firmed. With growth holding up and inflation on a higher trajectory, the Bank of Korea is poised to begin a new tightening cycle on Thursday. We expect the BoK to raise rates by 25bp. India: Lower oil to cool wholesale prices, less so consumer prices We expect India’s consumer price inflation to edge slightly higher to 4.2% year-on-year in June, while wholesale price inflation is likely to moderate to 9%. Softer Brent crude prices should pull wholesale prices lower, but persistent retail fuel costs, gradually firming food inflation and sticky core pressures point to a mild uptick in consumer inflation. Overall, inflation risks remain tilted to the upside, as El Niño-related weather disruptions threaten food costs. The gradual pass-through of wholesale prices to retail prices, meanwhile, is expected to support underlying inflation pressures. China: We expect mixed signals from key macro activity data China’s key macro activity indicators are all set for release next Tuesday and Wednesday. We expect the divergence in China’s increasingly K-shaped economy to continue in June. We look for trade data, out on Tuesday, to show solid export growth of around 17.5% YoY with import growth of 24.0%, resulting in a trade surplus of $120.1bn. On Wednesday, domestic activity data is likely to remain sluggish, with retail sales falling -0.2% YoY, fixed-asset investment down -5.2% YoY ytd, and industrial production dropping 4.7% YoY. We expect this to translate into second-quarter GDP growth of roughly 4.6% YoY. Source: ING 2026-07-13 hellenicshippingnews... tweet Share