Lending rates for households in Korea rise to highest in 8 years

Banks' average lending rates for households in Korea rose to the highest level in about eight years in May, in line with the central bank's aggressive push to raise borrowing costs to tackle fast-rising inflation, data showed Thursday.

The average rates of household loans extended by banks stood at 4.14 percent per annum last month, up 0.09 percentage points from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The May figure marked the highest level since January 2014, when it came to 4.15 percent.

Mortgage rates stayed unchanged at 3.9 percent in May, but unsecured loan rates jumped by 0.16 percentage points on-month to 5.78 percent in May, the highest since January 2014, the data showed.

The rise is in line with the BOK's recent moves to raise its policy rate to keep a lid on rising inflation pressure. The BOK has hiked the rate five times since August last year, including a quarter percentage-point rise last month.

Yonhap