SEOUL: South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged as expected at 2.5 percent Thursday after a surprise rate cut last month.
The Bank of Korea's decision to freeze the rate followed hints of a recovery in Asia's fourth-largest economy whose exports grew at a faster-than-expected pace in May.
Industrial output for April -- announced in late May -- also rose for the first time in four months, fanning hopes for an economy that posted its slowest growth for three years in 2012.
The central bank in early May cut the rate by 0.25 percentage points -- the first cut for seven months.
Slumping global demand has generally hampered exports which account for more than half of South Korea's GDP.
Major exporters have also complained that the weak Japanese yen has blunted their price competitiveness in overseas markets against Japanese rivals.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.