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U.S. may soon start exit strategy: Finance minister


South Korea Thursday welcomed Washington's decision to delay tapering its quantitative easing measures, saying that it could have a "positive" impact on the Korean economy, officials here said.

The reaction came after the Federal Reserve decided to keep its current bond-purchasing program in place during the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday (local time). The decision is based on less optimistic views of its economy and employment.

"Many market players expected a reduction in quantitative easing but as it was kept intact this time, stocks in the U.S. rose and currencies in India and Indonesia gained ground," said Deputy Finance Minister Eun Sung-soo, who chaired the meeting in Seoul.

"The Fed's decision seems to be working favorable for the market at this point.

"But the tapering is still an ongoing issue, and there are also some risk factors we can find in the Fed's decision so we will respond to market situations with a sense of caution against external volatility."

 Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok shared the view that the government should remain on alert since the Fed's decision should be accepted as a "strong signal" that Washington will soon start an exit strategy from quantitative easing.

"There is a positive aspect of less shock for emerging countries thanks to a delay in tapering, but we should stay cautious against future developments," he said while visiting Indonesia to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

(Yonhap News)