Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol and six other monetary policy board members left the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate unchanged at an all-time low of 0.50 percent. The key rate has been frozen since May last year.
It was in line with market expectations. According to a Korea Financial Investment Association (KFIA) survey of 100 fixed-income experts, 89 predicted a rate freeze.
The rate freeze decision came as the COVID-19 pandemic resurged here in recent days.
In the latest tally, the country reported 1,600 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, lifting the total number of infections to 173,511.
It marked the country's second-highest daily caseload, staying above 1,000 for the ninth consecutive day. The daily average caseload for the past week soared to 1,355.
The government planned to adopt the toughest social-distancing guidelines in the Seoul metropolitan area for two weeks until July 25.
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