‘Ukraine war, global supply shortage and US rate hike could restrict 2022 GDP growth’

An economic surveillance organization in Asia on Tuesday maintained its 2022 growth outlook for the South Korean economy at 3 percent, citing improving private spending despite heightened external economic risks. The projection by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) remains unchanged from its January estimate and is in line with the 3 percent growth estimates by the Bank of Korea and the International Monetary Fund. The Singapore-based international organization forecast Asia's four

Market watchers are sharply divided over whether the Bank of Korea (BOK) will raise its key policy rate this week amid persistent worries over inflation that has been under growing upward pressure from surging oil and commodity prices, a poll showed Tuesday. The BOK is set to hold a rate-setting meeting Thursday. In February, the central bank froze its policy interest rate at 1.25 percent after hiking it by a combined 0.75 percentage point since August last year. According to the poll of 100 b

South Korea’s exports, which account for half of the nation’s economy, will likely weaken once the US Federal Reserve starts carrying out additional and steeper rate hikes, a think tank report showed Monday. The report came after minutes from the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting released last week indicated officials initially preferred a 50-basis-point rate hike, but instead settled on 25 points, considering the Ukraine crisis. The Fed raised the benchmark rate by 25 bas

Bond issuance in South Korea rose solidly in March from the previous month thanks largely to increased state debt sale, industry data showed Monday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 71.3 trillion won ($58.1 billion) last month, up 4.7 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of government bonds jumped by 8.9 trillion won to 28.9 trillion won in March, with those of special bonds rising by 971 b

South Korea's exports rose 3 percent in the first 10 days of April from a year earlier on the back of demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $15.3 billion in the April 1-10 period, compared with $14.9 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports gained 12.8 percent on-year to $18.9 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.52 billion during the cited period, the data showed. By s

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s finance minister nominee said Sunday that he will seek parliamentary approval of an extra budget to support the self-employed and small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19, despite runaway inflation eating into many household budgets. Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, currently a two-term lawmaker of Yoon’s People Power Party, said inflation cannot be the reason to avoid increasing spending. “How we can manage to benefit from the extra budget while shielding

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Friday the government is "positively" considering joining a new US-proposed economic framework in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States is seeking to launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to seek deeper cooperation with partner nations on a wide range of economic and trade issues, including digital trade and supply chains. The move is widely seen as aimed at countering China amid an intensifying Sino-US rivalry. "Discuss

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 22nd straight month in February, but the surplus narrowed from a year earlier as soaring oil prices boosted import bills, central bank data showed Friday. The current account surplus reached $6.42 billion in February, down from $8.06 billion the previous year, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account has remained in the black since May 2020 on the back of robust exports. But the surplus fell on-year

SEJONG -- Import prices of grain will likely continue to climb during the second quarter of the year amid deepening inflationary pressure worldwide, a state-funded agency predicted. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the projection index for import prices for edible grain and fodder grain reached 158.5 and 163.1, respectively, in the period of April to June. This is a rise by 10.4 percent and 13.6 percent compared to a quarter earlier, under the assumption that the price level wa

Kakao Mobility Corp., South Korea's leading taxi-hailing firm, said Thursday that it will invest 50 billion won ($41 million) to support its business partners to spearhead shared growth. The investment is part of a 300 billion-won fund created by its parent firm, internet giant Kakao Corp., to support small business partners over the next five years. "Kakao Mobility aims to support the mobility ecosystem so that it can accomplish shared growth through the coexistence fund," Ryu Geung-s

Private companies will take over from state firms in pursuing raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel to better respond to supply shortages stemming from global political unrest, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition committee said Wednesday. “The supply bottlenecks are getting worse because geopolitical unrest is taking place worldwide and supply chains are held hostage. Demand for raw materials is growing since more electric vehicles and renewable energy are using th

SEJONG -- Skepticism is growing over the Korean economy’s growth targets due to a variety of downside risks at home and abroad, though the government had predicted the economy would expand by 3.1 percent this year. The gloomy situation could be seen from the recent announcement of international organizations and rating firms, who started revising down their outlooks on the 2022 gross domestic product growth for Korea. In March, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings both slash

The relative poverty rate of South Korean senior citizens has been on the decline, but is still high among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) amid rapid aging, a report showed Wednesday. The relative poverty rate of South Koreans aged 66 or older came to 40.4 percent in 2020, down from 43.2 percent the previous year and 47.8 percent in 2011, according to the report on sustainable development goals by Statistics Korea. Relative poverty rate refers

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday lowered its 2022 growth outlook for the South Korean economy to 3 percent amid the upsurge in COVID-19 cases and the Ukraine crisis. The latest estimate by the Manila-based bank is lower than the 3.1 percent growth forecast made in December last year. The ADB forecast the South Korean economy will grow 2.6 percent next year. Despite the downward revision, the ADB assessed the South Korean economy is expected to "settle into more sustainable grow