BOK lowers Korea's economic growth forecast to 2.5% for 2019
- 5 years ago
한은, 올해 성장률 전망 2.6→2.5%로 하향…수출•투자 부진
South Korea's central bank has lowered Korea's economic growth forecast for this year to 2-point-5 percent.
As for why, the BOK pointed to sluggish exports and investment.
Ko Roon-hee reports.
The Bank of Korea on Thursday lowered South Korea's economic growth forecast for this year to 2-point-5 percent.
This is down from its earlier projection of 2-point-6 percent back in January.
As for why, the central bank pointed to two main reasons.
"The BOK has lowered its growth forecast for this year by 0-point-1 percentage points. This is because exports and investment were more sluggish than expected in the 1st quarter. We expect the growth trend to gradually recover in the future, thanks to the expansion of fiscal spending and improvement in exports and investment figures."
The announcement comes after Korea's outbound shipments decreased on-year for 4 consecutive months... mainly due to poor chip sales.
Facilities investment also dropped by more than 10-percent on-month in February.
On a brighter note, things are looking better in private consumption and employment.
Consumption is expected to grow moderately by 2-point-5 percent.
The BOK expects 140-thousand new jobs to be added this year, up from last year's figure of 100-thousand.
Reflecting the slowing overall economic growth, the Bank of Korea on Thursday also kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1-point-75 percent for April.
The central bank has maintained its key rate at the same level since November last year... when it raised the rate by a quarter of a percentage point.
When the BOK explained the background behind the decision, it pointed to the low inflation rate.
Korea's consumer price index fell to within the zero to one percent range... mainly due to the drop in prices of agricultural and petroleum goods.
The central bank predicts the index will rise by 1-point-1 percent this year.
Analysts added this move comes after many major countries such as the United States affirmed their commitment to being patient with monetary policies.
While the BOK believes the nation's economic growth will continue in line with its potential growth rate... the bank said it will keep its accommodative monetary policy... because the demand-end inflationary pressure isn't that great.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.
South Korea's central bank has lowered Korea's economic growth forecast for this year to 2-point-5 percent.
As for why, the BOK pointed to sluggish exports and investment.
Ko Roon-hee reports.
The Bank of Korea on Thursday lowered South Korea's economic growth forecast for this year to 2-point-5 percent.
This is down from its earlier projection of 2-point-6 percent back in January.
As for why, the central bank pointed to two main reasons.
"The BOK has lowered its growth forecast for this year by 0-point-1 percentage points. This is because exports and investment were more sluggish than expected in the 1st quarter. We expect the growth trend to gradually recover in the future, thanks to the expansion of fiscal spending and improvement in exports and investment figures."
The announcement comes after Korea's outbound shipments decreased on-year for 4 consecutive months... mainly due to poor chip sales.
Facilities investment also dropped by more than 10-percent on-month in February.
On a brighter note, things are looking better in private consumption and employment.
Consumption is expected to grow moderately by 2-point-5 percent.
The BOK expects 140-thousand new jobs to be added this year, up from last year's figure of 100-thousand.
Reflecting the slowing overall economic growth, the Bank of Korea on Thursday also kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1-point-75 percent for April.
The central bank has maintained its key rate at the same level since November last year... when it raised the rate by a quarter of a percentage point.
When the BOK explained the background behind the decision, it pointed to the low inflation rate.
Korea's consumer price index fell to within the zero to one percent range... mainly due to the drop in prices of agricultural and petroleum goods.
The central bank predicts the index will rise by 1-point-1 percent this year.
Analysts added this move comes after many major countries such as the United States affirmed their commitment to being patient with monetary policies.
While the BOK believes the nation's economic growth will continue in line with its potential growth rate... the bank said it will keep its accommodative monetary policy... because the demand-end inflationary pressure isn't that great.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.