Seoul, Aug 9 (IANS): The South Korean economy has seen a weakening growth momentum due to lacklustre exports and domestic demand, the central bank said Thursday.

"The domestic economy showed weaker growth momentum due to sluggishness both in domestic demand and exports caused by growing external uncertainties," the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a statement after the August monetary policy meeting.

The BOK noted that major economic indicators related to consumption and investment worsened in June, saying exports dropped 8.8 percent in July from a year earlier. The bank warned of downside risks to the economy due to the prolonged fiscal crisis in the euro zone and slowdown in emerging economies, reported Xinhua.

The BOK froze its key interest rate at 3 percent following the unexpected rate cut last month.

The BOK forecast that consumer price inflation will stay at a low level for the time being despite upward pressures from the planned hike in public utility fees and the instability of global grain prices. The country's consumer price rise slowed in July to 1.5 percent, the lowest growth in more than 12 years.