▲ This file photo taken April 1, 2024, shows a port in South Korea's southeastern city of Busan. (Yonhap)

economy-Q3 growth estimate

S. Korea's economy grows weaker-than-expected 0.1 pct in Q3: BOK

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy grew at a slower-than-expected rate in the third quarter of the year as exports slowed while domestic demand and facility investment gained traction, central bank data showed Thursday.

The country's real gross domestic product -- a key measure of economic growth -- gained 0.1 percent on-quarter in the July-September period, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The third-quarter figure is sharply lower than the market expectation of a 0.5 percent gain, and compares with the 0.2 percent on-quarter contraction in the April-June period and the 1.3 percent advance in the first quarter of the year.

On a yearly basis, South Korea's economy grew 1.5 percent in the third quarter, slowing from 2.3 percent growth for the second quarter of the year.

South Korea's economic growth slowed to the lowest in three years in 2023 due to a slump in exports amid tightening monetary policies around the globe.

The economy expanded 1.4 percent last year, decelerating from a 2.6 percent advance in 2022 and 4.3 percent growth in 2021.

The 2023 expansion marks the lowest since a 0.7 percent contraction in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

For the whole year, the bank expects the economy to rebound slightly, at 2.4 percent.

Earlier this month, the BOK cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.25 percent, ending its yearslong restrictive policy amid moderating inflation and faltering domestic demand.

The central bank has been implementing a restrictive mode as it delivered seven consecutive hikes in borrowing costs from April 2022 to January 2023 to tame soaring inflation in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]