South Korea's central bank voted to freeze its key interest rate at one-point-75 percent amid lingering global economic uncertainties caused by the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China. 

The Bank of Korea(BOK) voted to keep the rate steady in a monetary policy meeting on Friday in Seoul. 

It marks the fourth such decision made by the Bank of Korea this year. The last time it was adjusted was November 2018, when it was raised by a quarter of a percentage point. 

The freeze, widely expected, was due in part to global economic uncertainties caused by an escalating U.S.-China trade dispute. China recently threatened to restrict rare earth mineral exports to the U.S. following U.S. tariff hikes on Chinese goods and restrictions on Chinese telecommunications abroad. 

The trade war has rattled international markets and beleaguered export-dependent economies such as South Korea. 

The economy contracted point-three percent in the first quarter this year, the worst such performance since the global financial crisis late last decade.