South Korean banks' average deposit interest rate fell to a record low of 2.09 percent in January, down 0.07 percentage point from the previous month, the central bank said on Friday.
The figure marks the lowest level since the Bank of Korea (BOK) began compiling related data in 1996.
The deposit rate slightly rose to 2.16 percent in December, after sliding for seven straight months.
Banks' leading rate was also down by 0.01 percentage point to 3.90 percent in January from a month earlier, the BOK said.
On Feb. 17, the central bank froze the base rate at 2 percent for four straight months. The rate freeze came after the BOK cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage point each in August and October last year in a move to bolster growth momentum.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
