South Korea's central bank Thursday froze the key interest rate for the fourth straight month as US economic growth faltered and eurozone debt fears persisted.

Bank of Korea governor Kim Choong-Soo and his fellow policymakers kept the seven-day repo rate unchanged at 3.25 per cent for October.

"The rate freeze came on concerns that the gloomier global economic outlook will dent economic activities," Yoon Yeo-Sam, an analyst at Daewoo Securities, told Yonhap news agency.

"Korea's exports have weathered the global downturn well, but they are expected to slow down."

Seoul policymakers are battling to tame high inflation, but the September figures provided more respite. Consumer prices rose 4.3 per cent that month year-on-year compared to a three-year high of 5.3 per cent in August.

channelnewsasia.com