ID :
119004
Tue, 04/27/2010 - 17:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/119004
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean economy grows 1.8 pct in Q1
By Kim Soo-yeon
SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean economy grew 1.8 percent in the
first quarter from three months earlier on the back of solid exports and
improving domestic demand, the central bank said Tuesday, underpinning optimism
that the local economy is fast recovering.
In the January-March period, the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the
broadest measure of economic performance, sharply accelerated from a 0.2 percent
expansion in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to an advance estimate by the
Bank of Korea (BOK).
The quarterly growth rate was more upbeat than a 1.6 percent expansion predicted
by the BOK on April 12. From a year earlier, Asia's fourth-largest economy
expanded 7.8 percent in the first quarter, the sharpest growth in more than seven
years. The on-year growth was also higher than an earlier projection of 7.5
percent.
Exports, which account for about 50 percent of South Korea's GDP, expanded 3.4
percent on-quarter in the cited period after falling 1.5 percent in the fourth
quarter.
Private spending, one of the main growth engines of the Korean economy, gained
0.6 percent, compared with a 0.4 percent gain in the preceding quarter.
Facility investment climbed 1.5 percent after advancing 5.3 percent in the final
quarter of last year, and construction investment advanced 0.9 percent after
contracting 0.1 percent three months earlier.
The South Korean economy has been on a recovery path on the back of robust
exports and improving domestic demand, sparking debate over the appropriate
timing of a rate hike. The key rate has remained unchanged at a record low of 2
percent for 14 straight months.
Reflecting optimism about the economic recovery, the BOK upgraded its 2010 growth
forecast for the Korean economy to 5.2 percent from an earlier projection of 4.6
percent. The government put its economic growth estimate at 5 percent for this
year.
The International Monetary Fund said that, as the growth momentum of the economy
is strong, there is room over the near term for South Korea to begin to normalize
the key rate gradually.
Over the weekend, finance chiefs from the Group of 20 advanced and emerging
economies acknowledged that the world's economies are recovering at different
paces, raising the need to take varied policy actions in exiting from emergency
steps.
But many economists said that the BOK is not likely to raise borrowing costs, at
least in the first half, as the new BOK chief is viewed as being in line with the
government, which opposes a near-term rate increase.
BOK Gov. Kim Choong-soo, widely seen as dovish, said the central bank could
consider raising the rate only after becoming confident that the private sector
is making a sustainable recovery.
The BOK slashed the benchmark seven-day repo rate by a total of 3.25 percentage
points between October 2008 and February 2009 in a bid to help stem the sharp
economic downturn.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean economy grew 1.8 percent in the
first quarter from three months earlier on the back of solid exports and
improving domestic demand, the central bank said Tuesday, underpinning optimism
that the local economy is fast recovering.
In the January-March period, the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the
broadest measure of economic performance, sharply accelerated from a 0.2 percent
expansion in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to an advance estimate by the
Bank of Korea (BOK).
The quarterly growth rate was more upbeat than a 1.6 percent expansion predicted
by the BOK on April 12. From a year earlier, Asia's fourth-largest economy
expanded 7.8 percent in the first quarter, the sharpest growth in more than seven
years. The on-year growth was also higher than an earlier projection of 7.5
percent.
Exports, which account for about 50 percent of South Korea's GDP, expanded 3.4
percent on-quarter in the cited period after falling 1.5 percent in the fourth
quarter.
Private spending, one of the main growth engines of the Korean economy, gained
0.6 percent, compared with a 0.4 percent gain in the preceding quarter.
Facility investment climbed 1.5 percent after advancing 5.3 percent in the final
quarter of last year, and construction investment advanced 0.9 percent after
contracting 0.1 percent three months earlier.
The South Korean economy has been on a recovery path on the back of robust
exports and improving domestic demand, sparking debate over the appropriate
timing of a rate hike. The key rate has remained unchanged at a record low of 2
percent for 14 straight months.
Reflecting optimism about the economic recovery, the BOK upgraded its 2010 growth
forecast for the Korean economy to 5.2 percent from an earlier projection of 4.6
percent. The government put its economic growth estimate at 5 percent for this
year.
The International Monetary Fund said that, as the growth momentum of the economy
is strong, there is room over the near term for South Korea to begin to normalize
the key rate gradually.
Over the weekend, finance chiefs from the Group of 20 advanced and emerging
economies acknowledged that the world's economies are recovering at different
paces, raising the need to take varied policy actions in exiting from emergency
steps.
But many economists said that the BOK is not likely to raise borrowing costs, at
least in the first half, as the new BOK chief is viewed as being in line with the
government, which opposes a near-term rate increase.
BOK Gov. Kim Choong-soo, widely seen as dovish, said the central bank could
consider raising the rate only after becoming confident that the private sector
is making a sustainable recovery.
The BOK slashed the benchmark seven-day repo rate by a total of 3.25 percentage
points between October 2008 and February 2009 in a bid to help stem the sharp
economic downturn.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
