S. Korea holds rates, flags tightening prospects

A total of 75 basis point cuts since last year and the government’s fiscal support have given South Korea’s economic recovery a headstart, putting the BoK (pic) at the forefront of stimulus withdrawal.

SEOUL: South Korea’s central bank kept its monetary settings unchanged yesterday, as expected, but gave strong indications an end to its run of pandemic era record-low interest rates was coming as price pressures build.

Even as the country battles its worst outbreak of coronavirus, governor Lee Ju-yeol maintained his earlier hawkish tone and pushed up the bank’s inflation projection after keeping the benchmark interest rate at 0.50%.