Data on South Korea's economic growth and labor market conditions are due this week. Investors will also be watching the U.S. consumer price index, which lands ahead of the Federal Reserve's next rate decision.
The Bank of Korea releases revised second-quarter real gross domestic product growth on the 8th. The advance estimate published in late July came in at 0.6% from the previous quarter, far above the central bank's 0.2% forecast at the time. With semiconductor exports still strong, attention turns to whether the revision will shift that figure. Nominal second-quarter GDP growth will also be published the same day. Nominal growth expanded 10.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, the fastest pace in 50 years. BOK Governor Shin Hyun-song said at a recent press briefing that second-quarter nominal GDP growth was expected to come in considerably high.
Statistics Korea releases August employment data on the 9th. The number of employed young adults aged 15 to 29 fell by 191,000 in July from a year earlier, a 45th straight monthly decline, and the youth unemployment rate posted its steepest rise in five years and six months. With the government rolling out a series of youth employment measures, the question is whether the trend has turned.
The BOK's monetary policy report, due on the 10th, is also drawing attention. The central bank publishes the report twice a year, and this will be the first since it raised the base rate in July and again in August. Investors will look at how the bank assesses household debt and single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds in terms of growth, prices and financial stability.
The U.S. August CPI reading, due on the 11th, is the biggest focus for financial markets. The data comes ahead of a Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week that will set interest rates. The market expects a 3.4% year-on-year rise, matching July. Recent labor data came in weaker than expected, so a CPI reading that stays close to market forecasts could ease concerns about a rate increase heading into the September FOMC.
The European Central Bank decides its policy rate on the 10th. After raising it by 0.25 percentage point in June, the ECB held steady in July, but the market expects another increase this month. The reason is high inflation. Euro zone inflation jumped to 3.3% in August from 2.9% in July.
Elsewhere, Apple is set to unveil its first foldable phone at a product launch event, and Oracle's earnings report is another key event.
