ID :
42998
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 14:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/42998
The shortlink copeid
All BOK policymakers vote for 1-point Dec. rate cut
SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- Policymakers at the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted unanimously to cut its key interest rate by a record full percentage point in a bid to bolster the sharply slowing economy, according to meeting minutes released Wednesday.
On Dec. 11, the seven members of BOK's monetary policy committee decided to slash
the benchmark seven-day repo rate to 3 percent, marking the fourth rate cut in
two months.
"Current economic situations require more aggressive actions. Economic growth for
2009 is likely to sharply falter and it could be worse than previously estimated
if the global recession further deteriorates," one policymaker was quoted by
saying in the minutes.
The BOK joined a round of rate cuts by central banks around the world, led by the
U.S. Federal Reserve, aiming to stem the deepening global financial rout.
The South Korean economy, Asia's fourth-largest, is losing steam more sharply
than expected. The local economy shrank 5.6 percent last quarter from three
months earlier, the sharpest fall since the Asian financial crisis a decade ago,
due to faltering exports and sluggish domestic demand.
In January, the BOK cut the rate by half a percentage point to a record low of
2.5 percent and its chief hinted at further action down the road to keep the
economy from sliding into a recession. Since October, the BOK has trimmed the
rate by a combined 2.75 percentage points.
The BOK said last week that the country's economic growth for this year may miss
its earlier forecast of 2 percent. The government is targeting 3 percent in 2009,
but many experts say economic growth will likely fall to the 1-percent range this
year with some expecting a recession for the first time in more than a decade.
Exports, the mainstay of South Korea's economic growth, tumbled 11.9 percent
on-quarter in the fourth quarter, marking the biggest fall since 1970 when the
BOK began to compile related data.
The Korean economy grew 2.5 percent for all of last year, half of its growth in
2007. The next rate review meeting is slated for Feb. 12.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
On Dec. 11, the seven members of BOK's monetary policy committee decided to slash
the benchmark seven-day repo rate to 3 percent, marking the fourth rate cut in
two months.
"Current economic situations require more aggressive actions. Economic growth for
2009 is likely to sharply falter and it could be worse than previously estimated
if the global recession further deteriorates," one policymaker was quoted by
saying in the minutes.
The BOK joined a round of rate cuts by central banks around the world, led by the
U.S. Federal Reserve, aiming to stem the deepening global financial rout.
The South Korean economy, Asia's fourth-largest, is losing steam more sharply
than expected. The local economy shrank 5.6 percent last quarter from three
months earlier, the sharpest fall since the Asian financial crisis a decade ago,
due to faltering exports and sluggish domestic demand.
In January, the BOK cut the rate by half a percentage point to a record low of
2.5 percent and its chief hinted at further action down the road to keep the
economy from sliding into a recession. Since October, the BOK has trimmed the
rate by a combined 2.75 percentage points.
The BOK said last week that the country's economic growth for this year may miss
its earlier forecast of 2 percent. The government is targeting 3 percent in 2009,
but many experts say economic growth will likely fall to the 1-percent range this
year with some expecting a recession for the first time in more than a decade.
Exports, the mainstay of South Korea's economic growth, tumbled 11.9 percent
on-quarter in the fourth quarter, marking the biggest fall since 1970 when the
BOK began to compile related data.
The Korean economy grew 2.5 percent for all of last year, half of its growth in
2007. The next rate review meeting is slated for Feb. 12.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
