Bank of Korea to hold rates at 2.50% as war-driven uncertainty persists: Reuters poll

## Summary
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST BENGALURU, April 8 : The Bank of Korea will keep its key interest rate unchanged at 2.50 per cent on Thursday and for the rest of the year, a Reuters poll forecast, as policymakers assess the impact of the Iran war on domestic cost pressures. Inflation rose to 2.2 per cent in March, slightly above the central bank's 2 per cent target but lower than the median 2.4 per cent estimate in a separate Reuters poll. CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less All 31 economists polled by Reuters between April 2 and April 7 forecast the BOK would keep its base rate at 2.50 per cent on April 10. "The central bank will adopt a cautious monetary policy stance rather than lock onto a specific direction," said Jeeho Yoon, senior economist at BNP Paribas. "At this meeting they won't provide their new updated growth and inflation forecast but they can provide a signal of where we are headed to and we think the BOK will highlight the risks of lower growth while highlighting upside risk to inflation." The Korean won has weakened 4 per cent against the dollar since the war began. In the poll, economists forecast inflation to rise to 2.6 per cent this quarter and average 2.4 per cent in 2026, up from 1.9 per cent predicted for this year in a January poll, and above the central bank's target.

## Article Content
Advertisement
Business
Bank of Korea to hold rates at 2.50% as war-driven uncertainty persists: Reuters poll
FILE PHOTO: People walk on a zebra crossing in front of the buliding of Bank of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, July 14, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
08 Apr 2026 08:37AM
Bookmark
Bookmark
Share
WhatsApp
Telegram
Facebook
Twitter
Email
LinkedIn
Set CNA as your preferred source on Google
Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
BENGALURU, April 8 : The Bank of Korea will keep its key interest rate unchanged at 2.50 per cent on Thursday and for the rest of the year, a Reuters poll forecast, as policymakers assess the impact of the Iran war on domestic cost pressures.
Since the start of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, oil prices have increased over 50 per cent, raising risks to both growth and inflation. South Korea is the world's fourth-largest importer of oil with around 70 per cent coming from the Gulf region.
At its February meeting, days before the war began, the central bank's forward guidance suggested rates would remain at 2.50 per cent until at least August. It also upgraded the 2026 growth forecast to 2.0 per cent from 1.8 per cent and projected inflation at 2.1 per cent, based on an assumption that oil would cost $64 per barrel.
Inflation rose to 2.2 per cent in March, slightly above the central bank's 2 per cent target but lower than the median 2.4 per cent estimate in a separate Reuters poll.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
All 31 economists polled by Reuters between April 2 and April 7 forecast the BOK would keep its base rate at 2.50 per cent on April 10.
"The central bank will adopt a cautious monetary policy stance rather than lock onto a specific direction," said Jeeho Yoon, senior economist at BNP Paribas.
"At this meeting they won't provide their new updated growth and inflation forecast but they can provide a signal of where we are headed to and we think the BOK will highlight the risks of lower growth while highlighting upside risk to inflation."
The Korean won has weakened 4 per cent against the dollar since the war began. On March 31 it touched its lowest since the 2009 global financial crisis, amplifying inflation concerns.
In the poll, economists forecast inflation to rise to 2.6 per cent this quarter and average 2.4 per cent in 2026, up from 1.9 per cent predicted for this year in a January poll, and above the central bank's target.
Among the 30 economists who offered a longer-term view, 26 forecast no rate changes through 2026, while three expected 2.75 per cent at year-end and one 3.00 per cent.
Stephen Lee, chief economist at Meritz Securities, said that while not targeting the exchange rate directly, the central bank would be watching the won because its weakness could feed into consumer inflation through higher import prices.
"Assuming the war's impact on headline inflation turns out to be transitory, I believe the case for monetary policy will be rate freeze until end-of-year. That said, there are many upside risks for inflation," Lee said.
(Other stories from the April Reuters global economic poll)
Source: Reuters
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Subscribe here
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Download here
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Join here
Advertisement
Also worth reading
Content is loading...
Advertisement
Expand to read the full story
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

---

## Expert Analysis

### Merits
N/A

### Areas for Consideration
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less All 31 economists polled by Reuters between April 2 and April 7 forecast the BOK would keep its base rate at 2.50 per cent on April 10. "The central bank will adopt a cautious monetary policy stance rather than lock onto a specific direction," said Jeeho Yoon, senior economist at BNP Paribas. "At this meeting they won't provide their new updated growth and inflation forecast but they can provide a signal of where we are headed to and we think the BOK will highlight the risks of lower growth while highlighting upside risk to inflation." The Korean won has weakened 4 per cent against the dollar since the war began.
- Stephen Lee, chief economist at Meritz Securities, said that while not targeting the exchange rate directly, the central bank would be watching the won because its weakness could feed into consumer inflation through higher import prices. "Assuming the war's impact on headline inflation turns out to be transitory, I believe the case for monetary policy will be rate freeze until end-of-year.

### Implications
- Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST BENGALURU, April 8 : The Bank of Korea will keep its key interest rate unchanged at 2.50 per cent on Thursday and for the rest of the year, a Reuters poll forecast, as policymakers assess the impact of the Iran war on domestic cost pressures.
- It also upgraded the 2026 growth forecast to 2.0 per cent from 1.8 per cent and projected inflation at 2.1 per cent, based on an assumption that oil would cost $64 per barrel.
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less All 31 economists polled by Reuters between April 2 and April 7 forecast the BOK would keep its base rate at 2.50 per cent on April 10. "The central bank will adopt a cautious monetary policy stance rather than lock onto a specific direction," said Jeeho Yoon, senior economist at BNP Paribas. "At this meeting they won't provide their new updated growth and inflation forecast but they can provide a signal of where we are headed to and we think the BOK will highlight the risks of lower growth while highlighting upside risk to inflation." The Korean won has weakened 4 per cent against the dollar since the war began.
- In the poll, economists forecast inflation to rise to 2.6 per cent this quarter and average 2.4 per cent in 2026, up from 1.9 per cent predicted for this year in a January poll, and above the central bank's target.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers per, cent, inflation topics. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 737.