SEOUL, April 11 Reuters South Korea39;s central bank on Tuesday held interest rates steady for a second consecutive meeting, as expected, faced with conflicting risks from still high inflation, a slowing economy and heightened financial uncertainty.

The Bank of Korea said its sevenmember monetary policy board voted to keep the base rate unchanged at 3.50, as it did on Feb. 23. Governor Rhee Changyong is due to hold a news conference from 0210 GMT.

The decision was in line with predictions from 39 out of 40 economists surveyed by Reuters, while one respondent had forecast a 25basispoint hike.

It is the first time the Bank of Korea has kept the policy rate steady at successive meetings since it embarked on a tightening campaign in August 2021.

Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sonali Paul

Source Reuters