 |
| ▲ In this file photo, containers for export are stacked at a pier in South Korea's largest port city of Busan, 320 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 10, 2023. (Yonhap) |
BOK-rate freeze
BOK holds key rate steady for 3rd straight time amid receding inflation, slowdown woes
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's central bank held its key interest rate steady for the third straight time Thursday as inflation appears to be easing amid an economic slowdown.
In a widely expected decision, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) kept the benchmark seven-day repo rate unchanged at 3.5 percent.
This marked the third straight time that the BOK has stood pat following a rate freeze in February and another in April. The rate freezes came after the BOK had delivered seven consecutive hikes in borrowing costs since April last year.
The back-to-back rate freezes are raising expectations that the BOK might be ending its aggressive rate hike amid signs of moderating inflation, rising economic slowdown woes and lingering fears over global banking turmoil.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
