BOK freezes key rate at 0.75 pct after rate hike in Aug.

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's central bank on Tuesday kept the policy rate steady as it assessed the impact of its rate hike in August on the economy amid rising inflation and growing household debt.

As widely expected, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) stood pat on the benchmark seven-day repo rate, dubbed the base rate, at 0.75 percent.

In August, the BOK raised the key rate by a quarter percentage point from a record low of 0.5 percent, marking the first rate hike since November 2018.

It marked the end of 15 months of record low interest rates as the South Korean economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The BOK slashed the base rate by a combined 0.75 percentage point between March and May 2020 to prop up the pandemic-hit economy.

The rate freeze came as the economic recovery momentum slowed amid the latest spike in COVID-19 cases.

Exports remain solid, led by strong demand for chips and autos, but uncertainty for the recovery of private spending heightened as the number of daily virus infections has remained above 1,000 for more than three months.

Exports, which account for half of the economy, grew 16.7 percent on-year in September, extending their gains to the 11th straight month.

The BOK kept its 2021 growth forecast for Korea at 4 percent despite the resurgence in COVID-19 cases as it said the surge of infections is not likely to significantly dent the economic recovery.

The BOK has taken close tabs on a build-up in inflationary pressure and the snowballing household debt, major reasons for its rate increase in August.

South Korea's consumer prices grew 2.5 percent on-year in September, compared with a 2.6 percent on-year gain the previous month, according to government data.

The country's consumer inflation rose more than 2 percent for the sixth straight month in September due largely to high prices of farm and oil products.

The BOK raised this year's inflation projection to 2.1 percent from its earlier forecast of 1.8 percent. The central bank aims to keep annual inflation at 2 percent over the medium term.

The growth of household debt has shown no signs of letting up as more people have taken out loans to buy homes in anticipation of higher prices despite a series of government restrictions. Demand for unsecured loans also remains high amid a boom in stock investment.

Household credit reached a record high of 1,805.9 trillion won (US$1.51 trillion) as of end-June, up 41.2 trillion won from three months earlier, according to central bank data.

Experts said the BOK is likely to raise the policy rate in November as the bank seeks the orderly adjustment of the accommodative monetary policy stance.

BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in August that the central bank took the "first step" toward easing a buildup of financial imbalances, signaling further rate hikes later this year or early next year.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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