Bank of Korea(BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol says the U.S Federal Reserve's rate hike wasn't a surprise and will have a limited impact on local financial markets. 

Lee told reporters Thursday that despite the wider gap between U.S. and South Korean interest rates, he doesn't expect one or two hikes will fuel a capital outflow. 

The FOMC on Wednesday increased the benchmark interest rates to a range of one-point-75 to two percent, marking the second raise this year. 

Analysts project the Federal Reserve will push up the rates again in September. 

South Korea's current benchmark rate stands at one-point-five percent, the gap with the upper level of the U.S. base rate being point-five percent.