Household loans extended by local lenders continued to rise at a fast rate last month, but the rate of growth slowed from a month earlier ahead of an imminent U.S. rate hike, central bank data showed Wednesday.
  

As of the end of November, outstanding household loans extended by local banks totaled 632.3 trillion won ($536.3 billion), up 7.6 trillion won from the month before, according to the Bank of Korea.
  

The rise marks a slowdown from October, when outstanding household loans gained 9 trillion won from the previous month, marking the largest on-month increase since January 2008, when the central bank began compiling related data.
  

Home-backed loans increased by 6 trillion won from a month earlier to 471 trillion won as of end-November, reflecting a continued boom in the property market, the BOK noted.
  

In November, the number of home transactions involving apartment units in the capital Seoul came to 10,000, greatly surpassing the nine-year average of 7,500 for November between 2006 and 2014, it said in a press release.
  

Credit loans gained 1.6 trillion won on-month to 160.6 trillion won as of end-November, slowing from a 2 trillion-won increase in the previous month.
  

The slowing growth in household debts comes ahead of what many believe to be an imminent U.S. rate hike, which could prompt a mass outflow of foreign capital from the country, which, in turn, could push up borrowing rates here.
  

The country's household credit, which includes credit purchases and loans extended by non-banking financial institutions, reached a fresh record of 1,166.4 trillion won as of end-September, concerning policymakers, especially ahead of the apparent U.S. rate hike.
  

South Korea's own key rate has been kept at a record low of 1.5 percent since June as the central bank seeks to bolster growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
  

The BOK's monetary policy board is scheduled to hold its monthly rate-setting meeting Thursday. Many believe the central bank will again stand pat on its key rate, citing the country's poor exports partly caused by an economic slowdown in China, the world's largest importer of South Korean goods.
  

South Korea's exports have dropped every single month since the start of the year.
  

The central bank, meanwhile, said corporate loans extended by local lenders rose by 4.4 trillion won from a month earlier to 733.9 trillion won as of end-November, also marking a slowdown from a 9.3 trillion-won on-month gain in October. (Yonhap)