Bank of Korea likely to raise interest rates further, outgoing deputy chief says

SEOUL, Aug 11 : South Korea's central bank will raise interest rates further to respond to persistent inflationary pressure, the outgoing deputy chief said on Tuesday. "Unless there is an extraordinary shock or an extraordinary factor, the possibility of an additional rate hike is high," Bank of Korea Senior Deputy Governor Ryoo Sang-dai said at a press conference as his three-year term comes to end on August 20. "Because interest-rate policy is conducted ex ante and pre-emptively, there will be an additional hike as we look at the growth and inflation outlook," said Ryoo, a member of the central bank's seven-seat monetary policy board. Last month, the BOK raised interest rates for the first time in 3-1/2 years and flagged more to come, as brisk growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy fann