Photo : YONHAP News
Bank of Korea(BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong said there is more room to consider additional interest rate cuts, after the central bank’s monetary policy board lowered the rate by zero-point-25 percentage point.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Rhee hinted at the possibility of an additional rate cut, noting that the neutral interest rate limit is higher than the actual interest regardless of the measurement model.
The BOK chief said the pace of future cuts will depend on the stability of the nation’s financial markets, adding that the move could be regarded as a hawkish decline.
Rhee said policymakers came to the decision to cut the rates as it became unnecessary to maintain an excessive level of austerity amid slowing inflation.
He also assessed there was a meaningful progress regarding household debts, with housing transactions halving in September from July figures and price increase in the capital area dropping to a third that from August.