BoK to Freeze Key Interest Rate

South Korea’s central bank is expected to maintain its key interest rate at a record low until mid-2018, according to an economist at Goldman Sachs on Saturday, after the Bank of Korea hinted that it may keep a dovish tone, Yonhap reported. Goldman Sachs economist Kwon Goo-hoon also expected the nation’s inflation rate to slow down as prices of raw materials are predicted to fall off. This week, the central bank announced it will keep its policy rates at the present record-low of 1.25% for a 13th consecutive month, even though it upgraded the nation’s growth outlook to 2.8% from a previous forecast of 2.6%.