South Korea's central bank cut policy interest rates for a second straight meeting in a surprise move as the economy stalled and inflation slowed more rapidly than policymakers predicted. The Bank of Korea (BOK) lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.

This was the first time the BOK enacted two back-to-back cuts since 2009. It had cut rates by 25 bps in its last meeting in October. Economists polled by Reuters had estimated the

The rate of inflation rose in October and moved further away from the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal, confirming a recent uptick in prices that could cajole the central bank to cut interest rates less aggressively.