BOK Holds its Key Rate Steady

The Bank of Korea held its key interest rate unchanged at a record low as policy makers weigh signs of a pick up in domestic demand against rising consumer debt and a slump in exports.

The central bank kept the seven-day repurchase rate at 1.75 percent on Friday, as forecast by 16 of 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Three had expected a cut to 1.5 percent.

The BOK has held fire at its last two meetings, even as China, Australia and Thailand cut borrowing costs over the last month to shore up growth. Governor Lee Ju Yeol said last month that while the latest gross domestic product data “wasn’t satisfactory,” it was enough to show improvement’s on the way.

Bloomberg

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.