Seoul, June 23
The United States' military involvement in the Middle East has heightened market uncertainties, the South Korean central bank said on Monday, vowing to take "appropriate market stabilisation measures" in a timely manner, if necessary.
The assessment came as U.S. President Donald Trump said his country's military conducted precision strikes on three key nuclear facilities in Iran over the weekend, exacerbating the crisis in the Middle East and sparking concerns about its impact on the global markets, reports news agency.
"Given that U.S. military involvement has significantly heightened uncertainty in the Middle East, we will maintain a high level of vigilance and closely monitor developments in the situation and their impact on domestic and global financial and economic conditions through a 24-hour monitoring system," Bank of Korea (BOK) Deputy Gov. Yoo Sang-dai said during an emergency task force meeting on the matter.
"If market volatility becomes excessively amplified, appropriate market stabilisation measures will be implemented in a timely manner," he added.
During the meeting, officials assessed that uncertainties surrounding the global economy and inflation could increase due to the instability in global oil prices, and that global risk aversion sentiment could be further heightened, according to the BOK.