Positive GDP Growth Possible This Year: Central Bank

The Bank of Korea could revise its economic forecast for this year from negative to positive growth.

The sharp GDP rise of 2.9 percent in the third quarter from the second quarter was Korea’s highest quarterly growth in seven years and six months. The third quarter also saw growth of 0.6 percent from the same period last year.

The central bank said yesterday that real GDP in the third quarter was 249.2 trillion won (210 billion U.S. dollars), up an estimated 2.9 percent from the previous quarter. The rise was also the highest since 3.8 percent in the first quarter of 2002.

Major think tanks had initially projected quarter-on-quarter growth of around one percent.

If the economy maintains this pace in the fourth quarter, the bank said, the economy could see positive growth overall this year.

Kim Myeong-ki, the head of the bank’s economy and statistics bureau, said, “Though the growth rate in the fourth quarter will be lower than those of the second and third quarters, the annual growth rate will stay in the black if the fourth quarter’s does.”

Real GDP reflecting trade terms in the third quarter grew 0.4 percent from the second and 3.6 percent from the same period last year.

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