South Korea's central bank cuts rates in a bid to boost the economy
South Korea’s central bank cut its policy rate for the first time in more than four years as pressure to revive a sluggish economy outweighed concerns about the country’s level of household debt
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s central bank on Friday cut its policy rate for the first time in more than four years as pressure to revive a sluggish economy outweighed concerns about the country’s level of household debt.
The Bank of Korea lowered its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.25% following a meeting of its monetary policy committee, in its first move to lower borrowing costs since May 2020, when the economy was weathering the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bank raised the rate by a quarter percentage point in August 2021 over concerns about inflation and soaring household debt, driven in part by skyrocketing house prices, and then froze rates for over three years.
The bank said in a statement that domestic demand is making a slow recovery, bogging down the pace of economic growth. It said there was room for a rate cut because inflation is showing signs of stabilizing and household debt is also increasing more slowly as the housing market in the greater Seoul area cools down.
