Bank of Korea Resists Rate-Cut Pressure Amid Threats of War

The Bank of Korea held borrowing costs unchanged for a sixth month, resisting pressure from the government for a reduction even as a sliding yen hurts the nation’s exporters and North Korea threatens war.

Governor Kim Choong Soo and his board kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate at 2.75 percent, the central bank said in a statement in Seoul today. Nine of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted the move while the remainder forecast a 25-basis-point cut. The bank expanded a program of cheap loans for small businesses.