Bank of Korea raises rates again, sees faster inflation

Inflation curb: A pedestrian walking past the BoK in Seoul. The central bank makes it clear that its main priority is controlling financial risks amid surging house prices and household debt. —Bloomberg

SEOUL: The Bank of Korea (BoK) has raised interest rates for the second time since August and signalled it would further pare back stimulus, in an effort to avert asset bubbles and prevent inflation from escalating further.

The central bank’s decision yesterday to lift the policy rate by 25 basis points to 1% was expected by all 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.