Bank of Korea Holds Rate Steady at 3.50%

By Kwanwoo Jun

South Korea's central bank held its base rate steady as widely expected after data showed the economy is stronger than thought, signaling a delay in its pivot towards policy easing.

The Bank of Korea on Thursday kept its benchmark seven-day repurchase rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 3.50% for an 11th consecutive time amid solid gross domestic product growth and sticky inflation.

All 13 economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected the bank to stand pat in May. Most economists expect the rate cuts, which usually support economic growth, will start only in the final quarter of the year. That view is backed by stronger-than-expected GDP growth in the first quarter, which prompted some economists to push back rate-cut time lines.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-22-24 2107ET