(Refiles to fix typographical error in second paragraph)
* June exports +2.5 pct y/y (Reuters poll: +5.1 pct)
* June annual inflation at 1.7 pct (Reuters poll: 1.9 pct)
* June HSBC/Markit mfg PMI at s/adj 48.4, a 10-mth low
* Growing view for interest rate cut
By Christine Kim and Choonsik Yoo
SEOUL, July 1 (Reuters) - South Korean exports, inflation and manufacturing activity for June all showed Asia's fourth-largest economy was losing momentum, lending support to a vocal minority view that the central bank may be forced to cut interest rates to spur growth.
After a strong start to the year, the export-reliant economy has been hobbled in recent months by a drum beat of negative data, prompting markets to reassess the outlook for monetary policy and gross domestic product.
Shipments in June grew 2.5 percent over a year earlier, trade ministry data showed on Tuesday, rebounding after a 1.0 percent fall in May. Growth, however, fell well short of a median 5.1 percent rise tipped in a Reuters survey of analysts, hurt by a decline in exports to China and Europe.
"Today's trade and inflation data will lend more strength to the rate cut view for sure. In our case, we see a rate cut as soon as August," said Jun Min-kyoo, an economist at Korea Investment & Securities. He was one of a few economists who had expected a rate cut even before the June data was released.
Domestic money market rates are pricing in an increasing possibility of a cut in the policy interest rate in coming months, although the dominant market view is that the Bank of Korea will hold steady for an extended period before hiking next year.
The policy rate has been kept unchanged at 2.50 percent since a cut by a quarter of a percentage point in May last year.
China's economic slowdown and Europe's uneven recovery offset much of the boost to South Korean exports from sustained U.S. growth at a time when domestic demand remains shaky in the aftermath of a deadly ferry disaster.
Seoul's financial markets showed a muted reaction to the batch of weak indicators. The won was almost flat against the dollar on the day while the front-end futures on three-year treasury bonds rose a slight 0.04 point to 106.47.
Exports to China, South Korea's largest market, fell 1.1 percent in June from a year before, declining for a second consecutive month. Shipments to the European Union also dipped 2.2 percent after surging 32 percent in May, while sales to the United States rose 15.8 percent on-year.
Inflation data released separately by the statistics agency on Tuesday underscored a recent pull-back in domestic demand.