The Bank of Korea on Thursday cut interest rates unexpectedly in a rare back-to-back move reflecting concern over the impact of Donald Trump’s second presidency on Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The BoK lowered the benchmark rate by a quarter-point to 3 per cent amid falling inflation and slowing growth. The move came as the central bank cut this year’s estimated growth rate to 2.2 per cent from 2.4 per cent and next year’s to 1.9 per cent from 2.1 per cent.
“Our decision can be interpreted as an acceleration of easing to deal with downward economic risks that are growing larger than we expected,” BOK governor Rhee Chang-yong told reporters on Thursday.