The Bank of Korea(BOK) has raised its benchmark interest rate by zero-point-25 percentage points to two-and-a-half percent amid concerns over high inflation and its impact on the economy. 

The central bank made the latest rate hike during a monetary committee meeting on Thursday, marking the first occasion it raised the key rate four consecutive times, after taking into consideration the surge in consumer prices and the widening won-dollar exchange rate.

In March of 2020, the BOK slashed its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to zero-point-75 percent before cutting it by another quarter of a percentage point two months later amid fears of an economic recession resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

It kept that rate steady until August of last year when it hiked the key rate to zero-point-75 percent, the first change in 15 months.

Overall, the BOK raised the key interest rate by a total of two percentage points the past year, including by a quarter percentage point a total of six times and by half a percentage point once.