The Republic of Korea's central bank on Friday cut its key benchmark interest rate, its first pivot in its yearslong monetary tightening mode, as inflation continued to moderate and the property market showed signs of cooling, reported Yonhap News Agency. As widely expected, the Bank of Korea (BOK) slashed its key rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent, the first reduction since August 2021, when Asia's fourth-largest economy began to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic-caused slump. The BOK had continued to stand pat at 3.5 percent following rate freezes since February last year after delivering seven consecutive rate hikes from April 2022 to January 2023. Source: Emirates News Agency