Overview
- All 34 economists in a Reuters survey conducted Jan. 6–12 expect the Bank of Korea to keep the base rate at 2.50% on Jan. 15.
- Separate Yonhap Infomax and Yonhap News Agency polls of local experts also point to a unanimous call for a rate freeze.
- The won has drifted toward 1,450 per dollar in early January, limiting scope for easing as authorities work to steady the currency.
- The central bank has shifted its guidance away from a standing cut bias, and the Reuters poll now shows no changes through 2026 with the next reduction expected in 2027.
- Housing pressures are elevated, with Seoul apartment prices up 0.18% in the week to Jan. 5 and 8.7% over 2025, while headline inflation was 2.1% last year and the poll pegs 2026 growth at about 2.0% with 1.9% inflation.