S. Korea's mortgage loan rate hits 14-month low in November

Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-27 13:10:08|Editor: Liangyu
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SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's mortgage loan rate hit the lowest in 14 months last month on expectations for the delayed policy rate hike, central bank data showed Thursday.

Rate for household loans by commercial banks stood at an annualized rate of 3.63 percent in November, down 0.01 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Home-backed loan rate declined 0.03 percentage points over the month to 3.28 percent in November, the lowest since September last year.

The decline came despite the BOK's benchmark interest rate hike from 1.50 percent to 1.75 percent last month, the first rate increase in 12 months.

Expectations spread for the slow rate hike by the BOK, which said it would keep its accommodative monetary policy stance next year.

The U.S. Federal Reserve lifted its target rate in December to a range of 2.25-2.50 percent, the fourth increase this year. It widened a gap between policy rates of South Korea and the United States.

Corporate loan rate, however, gained 0.04 percentage points over the month to 3.69 percent in November, following the BOK's rate increase. It was the highest since February.

Rate for loans to small companies added 0.03 percentage points from a month earlier to 3.87 percent last month, but the rate for loans to big corporations was unchanged at 3.42 percent.

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