KONTAN.CO.ID - SEOUL. South Korea's central bank kept interest rates steady on Thursday, but sharply downgraded its 2020 growth outlook and kept the door open for more monetary stimulus to support an economy hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The Bank of Korea kept the seven-day repurchase rate at a record low of 0.5%, in an unanimous and widely expected decision, after 75 basis points of rate cuts this year. It said gross domestic product would likely shrink 1.3% in 2020 - the biggest contraction in more than two decades - from a previous forecast for a 0.2% decline.
South Korea central bank cuts 2020 GDP outlook, open to more stimulus to fight virus
KONTAN.CO.ID - SEOUL. South Korea's central bank kept interest rates steady on Thursday, but sharply downgraded its 2020 growth outlook and kept the door open for more monetary stimulus to support an economy hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The Bank of Korea kept the seven-day repurchase rate at a record low of 0.5%, in an unanimous and widely expected decision, after 75 basis points of rate cuts this year. It said gross domestic product would likely shrink 1.3% in 2020 - the biggest contraction in more than two decades - from a previous forecast for a 0.2% decline.