Citi: South Korea's Central Bank may cut Intrerest Rate to 2.50% by 2026

Sina Financial News Citibank economists Jin-Wook Kim and Jiuk Choi said in a research report that South Korean Central Bank may gradually reduce the BenchmarkIntrerest Rate from the current 3.50% to 2.50% by 2026. They noted that the easing cycle could begin in August this year, two months earlier than Citi had previously expected. Assuming a slow pace of easing, the Central Bank will cut interest rates by 25 basis points each in August 2024, February 2025, August 2025 and February 2026. They added that the Central Bank removed the interest rate hike bias from its policy guidance, thus balancing the dovish and hawkish signals, but also ruled out a rate cut in the first half of the year.