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The Bank of Korea on Thursday kept the benchmark interest rate at 2 percent, but Governor Lee Seong-tae hinted that there still is room for a further cut.
It was the second month the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the benchmark rate at 2 percent. When the global financial crisis worsened last September, the central bank pushed the overnight interbank rate down from 5.25 percent.
Lee told reporters after the meeting the economy was continuing to shrink. "I think that domestic economic difficulties will continue for the time being, and exports are unlikely to recover anytime soon," he said.
Asked why the central bank has frozen interest for two months, Lee said, "Given the general condition of our economy, the 2 percent benchmark rate is contributing very significantly to implementing an easy monetary policy." But he added the door was always open for several policy choices, depending upon circumstances, since there are many uncertain factors in 2009 and 2010."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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