S.Korea keeps rates steady as Fed tapering, Yen in focus

Reuter - South Korea's central bank kept The Kim Choong-soo will hold a news conference from 11:20 a.m. (0220 GMT) and the central bank will update its growth forecasts later in the day.

In the global financial markets and capital flows in emerging economies. Indonesia is also expected to keep rates on hold later on Thursday.

"Cutting the policy rate in response to rising market interest rates would be crazy, because high rates would be a natural response to expectations for stronger growth," he added, referring to a potential rise in Markets showed little reaction to the decision, with the won down 0.1 percent against the dollar at 1,066.4 as of 0119 GMT and lead March futures on three-year  

Seoul is also keeping a cautious eye on the Japanese yen on concern that the currency's weakness will hurt the competitiveness of South Korean exports - a key driver of The won hit its highest level in more than five years against the dollar and the yen last week, prompting talk of possible government intervention in Underlining the angst of exporters, Hyundai Motor Co's chairman warned that the carmaker and affiliate Kia Motors Corp expected their lowest annual sales growth since 2003, as the weak yen aids Japanese rivals like Toyota Motor Corp.

And consumer sentiment held steady at its highest since early 2011 in December, reflecting increased confidence to among households to spend.

Inflation remained at an average The central bank currently projects economic growth of 3.8 percent this year, after an expected 2.8 percent expansion in 2013. It will release its latest growth forecasts for 2013, 2014 and 2015 later on Thursday.