Bank of Korea Holds Rates as Expected After Back-to-Back Hikes
The seven-member policy board voted unanimously after back-to-back quarter-point hikes, as September inflation stayed at 2.9% and growth remained resilient.
- On Thursday, the BOK maintained its benchmark interest rate at 3%, pausing after back-to-back quarter-point hikes in July and August.
- South Korea's inflation reached 2.9% in September, remaining above the BOK's 2% target for 13 months, while GDP growth beat expectations at 3.8% and 3.7% in the first two quarters.
- Driven by semiconductor shipments spiking over 262%, exports for September surged 83.7% year-on-year, reinforcing the International Monetary Fund's 3.3% growth projection for the country this year.
- Analysts from Dutch Bank ING noted that the pause does not indicate an end to tightening, as President Lee Jae Myung reportedly called for an "all out effort" to boost housing supply.
- Following his attendance at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok on Oct. 13, Governor Shin Hyun Song will hold a news conference at 0210 GMT.
16 Articles
16 Articles
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Han Ji-hoon, Chae Sae-rom, and Lee Do-heun = The Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Committee froze the base interest rate at 3.00% on the 22nd, as expected by the market.
Bank of Korea holds rates as expected after back-to-back hikes
The Bank of Korea announced on the 22nd that it held a Monetary Policy Committee meeting and maintained the base interest rate at 3% per annum. This marks a brief pause following consecutive rate hikes of 0.25 percentage points in July and August. The move is interpreted as a measure to catch one's breath in order to assess the effects of two consecutive hikes on price, growth, and financial stability. Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song also …
The Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Committee held a meeting on the direction of monetary policy on the 22nd and decided to keep the base interest rate unchanged at 3.00%. This appears to be a move to pause and observe the ripple effects further, considering the preemptive rate hikes implemented for two consecutive months in July and August. Domestic prices and
The Bank of Korea maintained its benchmark rate at 3.0%, while semiconductor exports increased 222.5% year-on-year in the first 20 days of October. Inflation, household debt and the recent fall of KOSPI keep the debate on a possible increase open in November.
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