SEOUL, May 26 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s central bank, today, raised its policy rate by 25 basis points, delivering the first back-to-back rate hikes in almost 15 years, to curb runaway inflation.
Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor, Rhee Chang-yong, and other monetary policymakers, decided to lift the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.75 percent.
The BOK set off its tightening monetary policy since last summer, increasing the key rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent in Aug, and 1.00 percent in Nov last year, and to 1.25 percent in Jan and 1.50 percent in Apr, this year.
The BOK’s back-to-back rate hikes, marked the first time in more than 14-and-a-half years, since the bank implemented it in July and Aug, 2007.
It was in line with market expectations. According to a Korea Financial Investment Association survey of 100 fixed-income experts, 94 percent predicted the rate increase this month.– NNN-YONHAP
