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Bank of Korea targets 1.5-3.5 pct CPI for 2000

SEOUL: The central Bank of Korea (BOK) said on Monday it will aim to keep the consumer price index (CPI), the nation's main inflation indicator, between 1.5 percent and 3.5 percent in 2000. The central bank said in a statement it has agreed with the Ministry of Finance and Economy to keep the CPI moving in that range.

The BOK said it agreed with the ministry to try to keep the CPI at an annual average of around 2.5 percent beginning in 2001.

The CPI targets exclude volatile price movements of petrochemical and agricultural products, it said.

The bank in December forecast CPI growth of 3.1 percent in 2000.-Reuters