Bank of Korea raised its base rate by 25 bps to 2.5% during its August meeting, as widely expected, citing persistent inflationary pressures and high inflation expectations. Thursday's move came after the board delivered an unprecedented 50-bps rate rise in July and as the central bank seeks to prevent capital outflows amid more rate hikes in the US. The latest decision was also the 7th increase in borrowing costs since the BoK lifted the base rate for first time in August 2021. Policymakers estimated the country's inflation rate to hit 5.2% this year, the highest level since 1998. That compared with their earlier projections of 4.5% made in May. Governor Rhee Chang-yong said that fighting inflation remained the bank's priority, but warned that this would need to be reviewed if growth weakened sharply. Meantime, the 2022 GDP is projected to grow by 2.6%, compared with prior forecasts of 2.7%, due to a slowdown in exports. In 2023, the economy is expected to expand much slower by 2.1%. source: The Bank of Korea

Interest Rate in South Korea averaged 2.87 percent from 1999 until 2022, reaching an all time high of 5.25 percent in October of 2000 and a record low of 0.50 percent in May of 2020. This page provides - South Korea Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. South Korea Interest Rate - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2022.

Interest Rate in South Korea is expected to be 2.50 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the South Korea Interest Rate is projected to trend around 3.25 percent in 2023, according to our econometric models.

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South Korea Interest Rate



Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2022-05-26 01:00 AM 1.75% 1.5% 1.75% 1.75%
2022-07-13 01:00 AM 2.25% 1.75% 2.25% 2.25%
2022-08-25 01:00 AM 2.5% 2.25% 2.5% 2.5%
2022-10-14 01:00 AM 2.5%
2022-11-24 01:00 AM


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Interest Rate 2.50 2.25 percent Aug 2022
Interbank Rate 3.03 3.03 percent Sep 2022
Money Supply M1 1347366.10 1380592.00 KRW Billion Jul 2022
Money Supply M0 164729800.00 164311400.00 KRW Million Jul 2022
Money Supply M2 3720343.60 3691545.90 KRW Billion Jul 2022
Money Supply M3 5048835.00 5020694.10 KRW Billion Jul 2022
Foreign Exchange Reserves 436430.00 438610.00 USD Million Aug 2022
Loans to Private Sector 11460966.00 11373776.00 KRW Hundred Million Aug 2022
Lending Rate 3.50 3.50 percent Sep 2022
Central Bank Balance Sheet 592691.60 611503.70 KRW Billion Jul 2022
Foreign Stock Investment 802823.00 940574.20 USD Million Jun 2022

South Korea Interest Rate
In South Korea the interest rates decisions are taken by the Bank of Korea’s (BOK) Monetary Policy Committee. The official interest rate is the Bank of Korea Base Rate which was changed from overnight call rate on March 2008.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
2.50 2.25 5.25 0.50 1999 - 2022 percent Daily

News Stream
South Korea Hikes Base Rate by 25Bps to 2.5%
Bank of Korea raised its base rate by 25 bps to 2.5% during its August meeting, as widely expected, citing persistent inflationary pressures and high inflation expectations. Thursday's move came after the board delivered an unprecedented 50-bps rate rise in July and as the central bank seeks to prevent capital outflows amid more rate hikes in the US. The latest decision was also the 7th increase in borrowing costs since the BoK lifted the base rate for first time in August 2021. Policymakers estimated the country's inflation rate to hit 5.2% this year, the highest level since 1998. That compared with their earlier projections of 4.5% made in May. Governor Rhee Chang-yong said that fighting inflation remained the bank's priority, but warned that this would need to be reviewed if growth weakened sharply. Meantime, the 2022 GDP is projected to grow by 2.6%, compared with prior forecasts of 2.7%, due to a slowdown in exports. In 2023, the economy is expected to expand much slower by 2.1%.
2022-08-25
South Korea Delivers Historic 50Bps Rate Hike
Bank of Korea raised its base rate by 50 bps to 2.25%, the largest increase since the bank adopted interest rates as its primary policy tool in 1999, during its July meeting, as it stepped up its battle against inflation now running at a 24-year high. Wednesday's move followed five previous hikes half that size, as the BoK Governor Rhee Chang-yong had said he was open to a big hike despite concerns about rising debt burdens for small businesses and home owners. The committee warned that further tightening is in the pipeline, as inflation will stay above 6% for some time and run substantially above the May forecast of 4.5% for the year while core inflation is forecast to remain elevated at 4% or higher. Meantime, 2022 GDP growth is projected to be somewhat below the May forecast of 2.7%, due to the slowdown in exports owing to weakening of economic growth in major countries. Policymakers and the government recently met and agreed to act “preemptively” to prevent macroeconomic risks.
2022-07-13
South Korea Raises Base Rate Again, Sees Higher Inflation
Bank of Korea raised its base rate by 25 bps to 1.75%, the highest level since June 2019, during its May meeting as it seeks to curb surging inflation. It was the third 25bps rate hike this year. In his first-rate review after taking office last month, governor Rhee Chang-yong and the board member raised further their 2022 inflation forecasts to 4.5% from an earlier projection of 3.1%, citing soaring oil prices and industrial products and adding it was necessary to conduct monetary policy with more emphasis on inflation for some time. Meantime, the committee said that it expects core inflation to stay around 3% this year. Governor Rhee recently said that the BoK could consider big-step rate hike in the coming months, depending on data. On the GDP, the board cut the 2022 growth outlook to 2.7% from 3%, amid a slowdown in exports as global uncertainty heightened.
2022-05-26