SEOUL, April 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's top central banker said on Monday that he was not considering an interest rate cut currently, indicating no change in its rate normalization policy.
"Currently, (South Korea) is not under the situation to review whether to cut the benchmark interest rate," Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol told a press conference.
Lee said the more accommodative monetary policy depended on future economic conditions and financial stability.
The BOK raised its target rate by 25 basis points to the current 1.75 percent in November last year, after the central bank hiked it to 1.50 percent from an all-time low of 1.25 percent in November 2017.
Lee told lawmakers last week that the policy rate cut could be mulled when economic situations worsen very much, but he told reporters earlier in the day that there has been no change in the bank's rate normalization stance yet.
The BOK chief forecast that the central banks of major economies would maintain their accommodative monetary stance.
Touching on the faltering semiconductor industry, Lee said the BOK was watching the industry with concern despite the majority of expectations that the chip sector would turn around in the second half of this year.
South Korea's export kept falling for four straight months through March on a double-digit reduction in chip export amid the lower product price.
