Off the wire
• FLASH: DING NING BEATS DEFENDING CHAMP LI XIAOXIA IN CHINESE FINAL TO WIN WOMEN'S SINGLES GOLD AT OLYMPIC TABLE TENNIS  • Final results of women's singles table tennis at Rio Olympics  • Results of women's 200m butterfly final at Rio Olympics  • Russia to make Hmeymim full-fledged military base in Syria  • Results of women's singles table tennis at Rio Olympics  • Results of women's singles table tennis final at Rio Olympics  • Chinese shares open lower Thursday  • Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.6255 against USD Thursday  • China treasury bond futures open mixed Thursday  • China Hushen 300 index futures open mixed Thursday  
You are here: 　 Home

S.Korea freezes interest rate at record low of 1.25 pct

Xinhua, August 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Korea's central bank on Thursday froze its policy rate at a record low in a bid to wait and see the effect from a quarter-percentage-point cut in borrowing costs in June.

Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol and six other policy board members decided to keep the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate on hold at an all-time low of 1.25 percent.

It was in line with market consensus as experts predicted a rate on hold for the expected wait-and-see stance by the BOK following the June rate cut as well as the continued increase in household debts.

According to a Korea Financial Investment Association (KFIA) survey of 200 fixed-income experts, 96 percent of the respondents had predicted a rate freeze this month.

The BOK refrained from altering the rate as the already massive household debts keep rising. Outstanding household debts by banks increased 6.3 trillion won (5.7 billion U.S. dollars) in July from a month earlier.

Mortgage loans, which account for more than two-thirds of household debts, expanded 5.8 trillion won last month. Home-backed loans topped 500 trillion won in June for the first time amid the record-low borrowing costs. Endit