South Korea steps up inflation fight with surprise rate hike

SEOUL: South Korea’s central bank raised its benchmark rate to the highest since August 2019 yesterday in a surprise move as it ramped up the fight against rampant inflation, which threatens its economic recovery.

In its first ever rate review held without a governor, the bank’s monetary policy board voted to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.50%, an outcome less than half of economists foresaw in a Reuters poll.