SEOUL, Jan 13 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s central bank, today raised the interest rate by 25 basis points, delivering seven back-to-back rate hikes.
Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor, Rhee Chang-yong and other monetary policymakers, decided to lift the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate from 3.25 percent to 3.50 percent. It marked the seventh successive rate hike for the first time.
The BOK began to tighten its monetary policy in Aug, 2021, hiking the key rate by 25 basis points in Apr, May, Aug, and Nov, and by 50 basis points in Jul and Oct, 2022, respectively.
Today’s hike was in line with market expectations. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association poll of 100 fixed-income experts, 67 percent predicted the 25-basis-point rate increase this month.– NNN-YONHAP
