South Korea's Central Bank Unexpectedly Holds Policy Interest Rates Steady

CREDIT INTEREST RATE - SEOUL.  South Korea's central bank unexpectedly left its policy interest rate unchanged on Thursday, weighing the impact of its back-to-back cuts last year while supporting the won which weakened to a 15-year low versus the U.S. dollar in recent weeks.

The Bank of Korea held its benchmark interest rate at 3.00% at its monetary policy review, an outcome expected by only seven of 34 economists polled by Reuters. The remaining 27 had expected the bank to cut the rate by 25 basis points.