South Korea To Address Inflation

Won is weaker, USD/KRW jumping from the open despite an overnight drop in the greenback as risk assets found favour as the US made progress towards a debt ceiling agreement – the deal has now been reached in the Senate and has been sent to the House for approval.

• Vice FinMin Lee said that South Korea plans to take active actions to stabilise inflation as price growth is expected to accelerate in the near term, CPI next month is forecast at 2.5% due to a negative base effect, compared to 2.2% in September; the BoK has a 2% inflation target. A more active response is needed (to stabilize inflation) in the fourth quarter as on top of the base effect, uncertainty remains high due to rising oil prices, global supply chain disruptions and global inflation risks," Lee said
• Elsewhere Samsung reported preliminary Q3 earnings announcing a rise in profit thanks to chip demand, the company also said it was increasing production to meet anticipated demand for its foldable phone. Note that LG Electronics has delayed the release of its Q3 earnings guidance to Oct. 12.
• There are no domestic economic releases on the docket today, markets look ahead to the BoK rate announcement on Tuesday next week.