INCHEON, South Korea, Feb 4: South Korea’s finance minister said on Thursday a supplementary budget to boost spending was “definitely” unwarranted at the moment despite signs of slowing in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. “I have said repeatedly that a supplementary budget will be adopted only when it becomes inevitable,” Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho told reporters on the sidelines of an event in the western port city of Incheon. “I can say definitely that the current situation does not warrant it.” His ministry unveiled a set of stimulus measures on Wednesday to keep the economy on a recovery track in the face of falling oil prices and tumbling demand from China and other major economies. When asked to comment on the won and interest rate policy, Yoo would only say the government was watching the markets. The won has been volatile in recent sessions on global issues while investors were betting the central bank could cut rates in the near future. On Wednesday, both 1- and 3-year treasury bond yields dipped below the central bank’s 7-day policy interest rate as investors saw a case building for an additional interest rate cut by the Bank of Korea in the coming months. (AGENCIES)
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