KONTAN.CO.ID - SEOUL. South Korea's central bank raised its policy rate to the highest since August 2019 on Thursday in an unexpected move, choosing not to wait for the formal appointment of a new governor before proceeding with its fight against surging inflation. In its first ever rate review held without a governor, the Bank of Korea's monetary policy board voted to raise the benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.50%, an outcome only 11 of 29 economists foresaw in a Reuters poll. The other 18 expected the bank to keep the base rate unchanged.
South Korea's Central Bank Unexpectedly Raises Rates as Prices Surge
KONTAN.CO.ID - SEOUL. South Korea's central bank raised its policy rate to the highest since August 2019 on Thursday in an unexpected move, choosing not to wait for the formal appointment of a new governor before proceeding with its fight against surging inflation. In its first ever rate review held without a governor, the Bank of Korea's monetary policy board voted to raise the benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.50%, an outcome only 11 of 29 economists foresaw in a Reuters poll. The other 18 expected the bank to keep the base rate unchanged.