BANK OF KOREA HOLDS RATES, BUT LIFTS GROWTH OUTLOOK

SEOUL - In line with expectations, the Bank of Korea (BoK) has kept rates unchanged at 2.50% for a second straight month after a 25 basis points cut in May. The BoK flagged slowing growth in emerging markets such as China, but said it expects “the global economy to sustain its modest recovery going forward”. The BoK raised its growth outlook for South Korea for 2013 and 2014 to 2.8% (from 2.6%) and 4.0% (from 3.8%) respectively, on improved domestic demand.