SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) – Bank of Korea board members said the bank shouldn\u2019t be in a rush to tighten monetary policy despite an expected pickup in the economy due to uncertainties over COVID-19, minutes of its April meeting released on Tuesday showed.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsidering still huge uncertainties related to the coronavirus and vaccines, it seems too early to discuss the normalization of monetary policies,\u201d a board member said at the board\u2019s April 15 meeting.<\/p>\n
The BOK on April 15 kept the seven-day repurchase rate unchanged at 0.5%, as expected, amid concerns that rising coronavirus cases could derail the economic recovery.<\/p>\n
A majority of board members expected inflation to accelerate to around the 2% level, but at least two stressed that stronger inflationary pressures may not change the picture on the rate outlook as the job market remains weak. [nL1N2MQ2IB<\/p>\n
The BOK sees the economy expanding at 3% to 4% this year after contracting by 1.0% in 2020.<\/p>\n