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July 10, 2025
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Korea: Policy Rate Held At 2.5% (Consensus 2.5%) in Jul-25

  • The Bank of Korea held its base rate at 2.50% as expected, pausing its easing cycle after household loans surged 6.5 trillion won in June and housing prices accelerated in Seoul, demonstrating that financial stability concerns now outweigh immediate growth support needs.
  • While economic growth remains subdued with a revised 0.8% forecast for 2025 and trade uncertainty persists, the Committee prioritised evaluating recently strengthened household debt management measures over additional monetary stimulus, signalling a defensive policy stance.
  • Future rate cuts remain contingent on financial stability developments and external conditions, with September presenting the next likely opportunity for easing if household debt growth moderates and US-Korea trade relations stabilise.
July 09, 2025
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RBNZ: Policy Rate Held At 3.25% (Consensus 3.25%) in Jul-25

  • The RBNZ unanimously held the OCR at 3.25% after six consecutive cuts, marking the first pause in its easing cycle as inflation edges towards the top of the 1-3% target band.
  • The Committee maintains an explicit easing bias, signalling that further rate cuts are expected if medium-term inflation pressures continue to ease as projected.
  • Future monetary policy decisions will be heavily influenced by global trade tensions, domestic economic recovery momentum, and inflation expectations amid an explicitly uncertain outlook.

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