BOK Governor Says All Options Open for August Rate Move
Summary
- The Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Board said it raised the benchmark interest rate to 2.75% from 2.50%.
- Governor Shin Hyun-song said the central bank would keep all options open on whether to deliver an interest-rate increase in August.
- Shin said inflation will not remain above target for long if monetary policy is used effectively.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song said on July 16 that the central bank would keep all options open for monetary policy when asked whether it could raise its benchmark interest rate again in August.
Shin made the remarks at a news conference after the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Board raised the benchmark rate to 2.75% from 2.50%. "The path of monetary policy is not decided in advance," he said. "There is still a lot of important data to come, so we cannot say definitively which way it will go."
On how long inflation may remain above target, Shin said the situation would change depending on the monetary policy response. If monetary policy is used well, inflation will not remain above target for a long period, he added.
Park Su-rim, Hankyung.com reporter paksr365@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
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