South Korea's central bank on Thursday left its benchmark policy rate steady at 1.5 percent as widely expected, amid growing concerns over the country's bulky household debt.
The Bank of Korea has been keeping the rate unchanged for two straight months following a surprise rate cut in June that was aimed at fending off the economic fallout from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
The decision is in line with a poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. All 11 analysts and economists projected a rate freeze, citing the need to gauge the impact of previous rate cuts and the government's household debt measures.
In July, Seoul unveiled a policy package aimed at easing household debt risk, which was feared to escalate if the U.S. Federal Reserve started hiking rates. As of end-March, the country's household debt totaled 1,099 trillion won ($929 billion). (Yonhap)
