South Korea keeps key interest rate unchanged

SEOUL: South Korea's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged Thursday, apparently waiting to assess the effect of a surprise cut last month.

The Bank of Korea kept the benchmark seven-day repo rate steady at 3 percent for August.

In July the central bank cut the rate by 25 basis points, the first reduction in more than three years, as Europe's debt crisis and China's slowdown weighed on the export-dominated economy.

Exports dropped 8.8 percent in July from a year earlier but inflation eased to its lowest rate in more than 12 years, giving scope for a potential cut.