[HSBC: AI's Direct Inflationary Impact More Likely to Appear in South Korea] Odaily Planet Daily News - HSBC economists stated in a research report that AI may have a more direct inflationary impact on South Korea as an upstream hardware supplier. They noted that bottlenecks in high-tech components and logistics are driving up producer prices in these critical upstream markets. They suggested that the Bank of Korea might have to tighten monetary policy to address inflation. HSBC predicts that the Bank of Korea will raise interest rates once more by the end of this year. They added that there could be further upward risks of policy tightening by 2027, depending on the extent to which surging AI exports translate into local economic activity. (Jin10)