The Bank of Korea lowered the base rate Thursday to a record low of 1.5 percent amid growing concerns that the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome will drag down the nation’s economic growth.
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| Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol on Thursday. (Yonhap) |
In its monthly rate-setting meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank decided to cut the base rate by a quarter percentage point, from 1.75 percent, marking the second rate cut this year, according to officials.
The rate has fallen by a cumulative 1 percentage point over the past year, through four rate cuts — in August and October last year; March and May — of 0.25 percentage points, each.
By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)
