The Bank of Korea (BOK) is anticipated to freeze its benchmark interest rate this week for the second straight time, as inflation keeps falling while signs of an economic downturn are heightening, according to analysts, Sunday. The BOK is scheduled to hold a rate-setting meeting, Tuesday, after halting a monetary-tightening campaign that lasted for more than a year and kept the base rate unchanged at 3.5 percent in its last meeting in February.
Korean stocks finished higher on Thursday as investors got a much-awaited reprieve from consecutive rate hikes by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The local currency rose against the U.S. .
The interest rate gap between Korea and the United States has widened to a more-than-22-year high, raising questions about whether the Bank of Korea s (BOK) policy rate will be able to settle at its target of 3.5 percent in 2023.The borrowing rate of the U.S. was raised to the range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent following the Federal Reserve s 50-basis-point hike, Wednesday, which is significantly more than Korea s at 3.25 percent.