SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's central bank on Thursday froze its benchmark interest rate for 11 months as growth outlook dimmed further.
Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol and six other monetary policy board members decided to keep its target rate on hold at 1.50 percent. The BOK refrained from altering the rate since the bank raised it to the current level in November last year from an all-time low of 1.25 percent.
It was in line with market expectations. According to a Korea Financial Investment Association (KFIA) survey of 100 fixed-income experts, 65 percent predicted a rate freeze.
The rate freeze came as the BOK lowered its growth forecast for the South Korean economy in 2018 to 2.7 percent from 2.9 percent estimated three months earlier.
It was the lowest in six years. The finance ministry set its growth outlook for this year at 2.9 percent.
