South Korea central bank keeps interest rates unchanged in Jan, as expected

[SEOUL] South Korea's central bank kept interest rates unchanged for a third straight month on Thursday, in line with expectations, as it monitors the ongoing recovery at home along with euro zone troubles and falling oil prices.

The Bank of Korea's monetary policy committee held its base rate steady at 2.00 per cent, a media official said without elaborating. Governor Lee Ju-yeol is due to hold a news conference from 11:20 a.m. (0220 GMT).

Of 34 analysts surveyed in a Reuters poll before the decision, 27 projected the Bank of Korea would leave the base rate unchanged on Thursday while around half of those who saw a hold predicted a cut in the coming months.

REUTERS