BOK expected to hold rates in May after Fed pause

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate at its May meeting, following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its policy rate unchanged, local analysts said Thursday. Amid heightened economic uncertainty from the Middle East conflict and rising inflationary pressure driven by a surge in global oil prices, the central bank, like its U.S. counterpart, faces limited room for rate adjustments, they said. The Fed held its benchmark rate in the range of 3.50 percent to 3.75 percent for a third straight meeting, but a surge in dissent — with four members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) opposing the decision, the most since 1992 — brought a hawkish undercurrent to the meeting. Market watchers say the central bank is likely to follow suit with a similar “hawkish hold” in May, while keeping the door open to further tightening in the second half of the year. The BOK's Monetary Policy Board meeting on May 28 will be the first under Gov. Shin Hyun-song, who took office on April 21. "Given the Fed's trajectory, the BOK is likely to hold its key

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