SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's central bank on Friday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the ninth consecutive month.
Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol and six other policy board members decided to freeze the policy rate at 1.50 percent. The BOK refrained from altering the rate since it raised its target rate to the current level from an all-time low of 1.25 percent in November last year.
It was in line with market expectations. According to a Korea Financial Investment Association survey of 100 fixed-income experts, 82 percent predicted the rate freeze.
The central bankers were reluctant to raise the policy rate on the worsening of recent economic indicators.
The U.S. Federal Reserve lifted its benchmark rate by 25 basis points in June to a range of 1.75-2.00 percent, topping the BOK's target rate of 1.50 percent.
