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World / Asia

Republic of Korea raises interest rates for first time in over three years

Published: 16 Jul 2026 - 01:43 pm | Last Updated: 16 Jul 2026 - 03:33 pm
Peninsula

QNA

Seoul: Republic of Korea's central bank delivered a quarter-percentage-point interest rate hike Thursday, as widely expected, to tackle high inflation amid lingering Middle East uncertainties.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) convened a Monetary Policy Board meeting and lifted the benchmark rate from 2.5 % to 2.75 %.

This marked the first rate increase since January 2023, when the central bank hiked the rate by 0.25 % to 3.5 % as part of its policy normalization to jump-start the pandemic-hit economy.