S. Korean central bank joins global rate cut for October
9/10/2008 17:13
South Korea's central bank announced today to cut its key interest rate
for October by 0.25 percentage point.
Bank of Korea (BOK) lowered the
benchmark 7-day repurchase rate to 5 percent this month, after freezing the rate
at an eight-year high of 5.25 percent in September. This is the first rate cut
since last November,
"Despite robust exports, the growth of the South Korean
economy is markedly weakening due to sluggish domestic demand," the BOK said in
a statement citing the reason for the rate cut.
South Korea's Yonhap News
agency said rate reduction shows the BOK's effort to boost the slowing economy
amid growing fears that a global credit squeeze is hurting the real
economy.
The BOK's movement came as other central banks around the world
started to lower key interest rates amid escalating financial
turmoil
Yesterday, the US Federal Reserve slashed its key rate by 0.5
percentage point to 1.5 percent, while other global central banks like the
European Central Bank and the Bank of England also joined the
trend.
Xinhua
|
