As expected, South Korea's central bank on Friday left its benchmark policy rate unchanged at a record low of 1.5 percent for September as it extended its wait-and-see mode amid rising growth uncertainties and heightened volatility in the global financial market.

It marks the third straight month in which the Bank of Korea has stood pat on the key interest rate following a surprise rate cut in June that was aimed at curbing the economic fallout from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which claimed 36 lives here.

"We decided to keep the key rate at the current level given a gradual recovery in domestic demand, heightened uncertainty in the global financial market stemming from China and the United States as well as a sustained growth in household debt," BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a press conference.

While Asia's fourth-largest economy has managed to eventually break away from the MERS outbreak, it has encountered new stumbling blocks coming from the world's two biggest economies.

Appetite for safer assets has increasingly grown over the past month as the Chinese stock market stutters and the U.S. Federal Reserve readies for its first rate hike in nearly a decade, spurring fears of a massive foreign capital outflow here.

Signs of slowing growth and financial instability in China, meanwhile, has added to concerns that exports will further slump.

China is the country's biggest trading partner.

Regarding the much expected U.S. rate hike, Lee projected the increase to take place this year in a limited scope.

"The shock from the U.S. rate hike is expected to be limited and differentiated in South Korea," he said, citing the Fed's stance to raise the rates in a gradual manner and South Korea's sturdy economic fundamentals.

The BOK's monetary policy board, meanwhile, noted in their statement that while economic growth is mostly seen as on track, overall uncertainties surrounding its course have escalated.

"The Board forecasts that the domestic economy will show a trend of recovery going forward, but, in light of external economic conditions, judges the uncertainties surrounding the growth path to have increased," it said.

On the upside, the policy committee said that consumption and investments continue to improve, but added that exports remain sluggish and "the improvement in economic agents' sentiments has been inadequate."

The decision is in line with a poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. A majority of 13 out of 15 analysts projected a rate freeze, citing the central bank's growing urgency to focus on financial stability.

The survey, however, showed that economists leaned toward an additional rate cut going forward. Five of 12 analysts predicted the key rate to reach 1.25 percent by the end of December. (Yonhap)