October 30, 2024

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South Korea’s central bank on Oct. 31 welcomed the latest US rate cut, saying it may help remove some economic uncertainties.

“We believe a US rate cut generally works toward boosting the economy and raising stock prices. It will support global growth and certainly have a positive effect on the global economy,” said Yoon Myun-shik, senior deputy governor of Bank of Korea.

The remarks came hours after the US Federal Reserve slashed its key rate by 25 basis points to a range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent.

Yoon insisted the US rate cut will not automatically lead to a rate reduction here but noted it will certainly be a factor affecting future monetary policy decisions here.

“The Fed‘s monetary policy decision is not the only factor we must consider,” he told reporters.

“Basically, a monetary policy decision is based on local economic conditions and the economic growth rate, but the Fed’s monetary policy is, of course, one of the various factors that need to be considered,” the BOK official added.

Yoon also noted the latest US rate cut may have expanded the room for South Korea‘s own policy maneuvers.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)