Interest rates cut in South Korea due to MERS outbreak
As new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) continue to pop up in South Korea, the country's central bank cut its policy rate Thursday by 25 basis points to a record low of 1.50 percent.
Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said "we decided to cut rates today in a pre-emptive move to contain the economic fallout from MERS" on the same day 14 more cases were confirmed by authorities. Since a 68-year-old businessman brought MERS back to South Korea after a trip to Saudi Arabia, 122 cases have been reported and nine people have died, Reuters reports. All of the cases have been traced back to the original patient.
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