South Korea holds rates as expected

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea’s central bank kept policy interest rates unchanged as widely expected on Thursday as a tumbling won reduced the scope for further easing and policymakers waited to see how the government’s steps to cool Seoul’s property market play out.

The Bank of Korea’s seven-member monetary policy board voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.50%, an outcome expected by 32 of 36 economists polled by Reuters.

Governor Rhee Chang-yong will hold a press conference at 0210 GMT, which will be livestreamed via YouTube.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sam Holmes)