SEOUL, July 9 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank on Thursday held interest rates steady for a fifth straight month at a record low of 2.00 percent, as expected, amid signs of a nascent economic recovery and stable inflation.
A Bank of Korea media official announced the monetary policy committee's decision without elaborating. Governor Lee Seong-tae is due to hold a news conference shortly.
All 12 analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast the central bank would hold rates steady, agreeing that unprecedented pump-priming had helped the economy stop sliding but the outlook was still hazy. [ID:nSP384001]
The Bank of Korea slashed the base rate by a total of 3.25 percentage points from early October 2008 until February this year to join the worldwide fight against the worst global downturn in decades. (Reporting by Seo Eun-kyung; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)