South Korea’s central bank is likely to slash the key interest rate twice this year to help boost the tepid domestic consumption and ease deflation concerns stemming from low oil prices, Nomura Financial Investment Co. said Friday.

The Bank of Korea lowered the base rate two times in the second half of last year to a record low of 2 percent to help avert the economic slowdown, but the move had little impact while further stoking the country’s already-sizable household debt.

“It is almost certain that the BOK will cut the base rate by 25 bp in January and another 25 bp in April,” Kwon Young-sun, a senior economist at Nomura’s Korean branch, said in a briefing in Seoul.

“As the government vowed efforts to reduce downside risk in the national economy and called for structural reforms, the BOK is highly likely to cut interest rates.” (Yonhap)