SEOUL: South Korea’s central bank on Thursday kept its key interest rate unchanged at a record low 1.25 percent as it monitors the impact of its surprise rate cut last month. In a bid to stimulate local spending, the Bank of Korea cut its benchmark inter-bank lending rate by 0.25 percentage points in June after holding the rate for 11 straight months.
The latest decision came as Asia’s fourth-largest economy struggles with growing jobless woes, mounting consumer debt and falling exports in the face of slowing global demand. Exports, which account for nearly half of the country’s economy, have fallen for 18 straight months.
The country’s consumer prices rose only 0.9 percent from a year earlier during the first half of this year, falling short of meeting the central bank’s 2-percent target rate for the 2016-2018 period. The central bank lowered its 2016 growth forecast to 2.8 percent in April.
