SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's central bank said Friday it left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.75 percent.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its seven-day repurchase rate by a quarter percentage point last month to 2.75 percent after lifting the rate by 25 basis points in July and November last year each from a record-low 2.00 percent.

The BOK's rate decision came amid spreading expectations that the bank is likely to raise the borrowing costs by 25 basis points to 3.00 percent to curb inflationary pressures.