According to Jinshi, Citibank economists Jin-Wook Kim and Jiuk Choi said in a research report that the Bank of Korea may gradually lower the benchmark interest rate from the current 3.50% to 2.50% by 2026. The easing cycle may start in August this year, two months earlier than Citi's previous expectations. The Bank of Korea will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in August 2024, February 2025, August 2025 and February 2026. The Bank of Korea removed the tendency to raise interest rates in its policy guidance, thereby balancing dovish and hawkish signals, but also ruled out the possibility of a rate cut in the first half of the year.