Seoul, August 27 (QNA) - South Korea's central bank (BOK) raised the benchmark rate by 0.25% for the second straight meeting Thursday, amid persistent inflationary pressures and risks to financial stability.
The BOK's Monetary Policy Board hiked the key rate to 3 percent at its regular rate-setting meeting in Seoul, marking the highest level since January 2025, Yonhap News Agency said.
The central bank delivered its first rate hike in 3 1/2 years in July. It marked the first back-to-back rate hikes since January 2023, when the central bank raised the rate at seven consecutive meetings starting in April 2022.
The central bank has expressed a strong will to maintain a hawkish stance for the time being due to rising inflationary pressures stemming from higher oil prices and renewed uncertainty in the Middle East, as well as the better-than-expected pace of economic recovery.
On another front, the bank raised its forecast for the country's economic growth this year to 3.3 percent, up from 2.6 percent in its previous forecast issued last May, citing strong semiconductor exports driven by continued demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
It also raised its 2027 economic growth forecast to 2.9 percent, up from 2.1 percent in its previous estimate.
Recent government data showed that the country's consumer prices rose 2.8 percent in July from a year earlier, falling below the 3 percent mark for the first time in three months but still remaining well above the BOK's 2 percent target. (QNA)