The Bank of Korea (BOK) assessed today (30th) regarding the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that "uncertainties surrounding the U.S. Fed's monetary policy and the Middle East situation have expanded."

Presiding over a market situation review meeting at the BOK this morning, BOK Deputy Governor Park Jong-woo stated, "During the press conference following this FOMC, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh expressed his commitment to price stability but did not deliver specific signals regarding future policy direction."

"As a result, the financial market assessed that uncertainties regarding the future operation of the Fed's monetary policy and the trajectory of inflation have heightened, leading to a sharp rise in long-term interest rates," Park added.

He went on to say, "Going forward, we will continue to monitor the developments of internal and external risk factors and their impact on the domestic financial economy with exceptional vigilance."

At the FOMC meeting, the Fed kept its policy rate steady at 3.50% to 3.75% as widely expected by the market, though three out of the twelve committee members voted for a rate hike.

(Photo: Provided by the Bank of Korea, Yonhap News)