South Korea central bank keeps rate unchanged, as expected

By Cynthia Kim and Jihoon Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s central bank kept its policy interest rate unchanged for an eighth consecutive meeting on Thursday as it looked for further decline in price pressure while staying on alert for any fallout from a construction firm’s debt woe.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) held its benchmark rate at 3.50% at a policy review in Seoul, as expected by all 38 economists polled by Reuters.

Governor Rhee Chang-yong will hold a news conference at around 0210 GMT, which will be live streamed via YouTube.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)