Bank of Korea raises rates for first time since Nov 2017

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s central bank raised its policy interest rate on Friday for the first time in a year in a widely expected move seen aimed at containing a boom in the property market.

The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee increased the base rate , which applies to its seven-day repurchase agreement deals, by 25 basis points to 1.75 percent, a media official at the central bank announced without elaborating.

Governor Lee Ju-yeol is due to hold a news conference starting at 0220 GMT.

The decision, tipped by 15 out of 16 economists in a Reuters survey, marked the first tightening in policy since November last year and brought the benchmark rate to its highest level since mid-2015.

Policymakers have been concerned about a property boom in the Seoul area and a surge in consumer finance, prompting various property restrictions.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.