Card spending growth highest in almost 2 years

South Korea’s credit card spending grew in the third quarter at the sharpest pace in almost two years, data showed Wednesday, pointing to a recovery in domestic demand from the deep trough that followed April’s deadly ferry disaster.

Purchases made with credit cards reached 147.17 trillion won ($141 billion) in the July-September period, growing 6.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association. The third quarter gain marks the highest since the 10 percent on-year rise in the fourth quarter of 2012. The data includes transactions on credit, debit and prepaid cards. Cash advances, overseas spending and card loans were not included.

Many Koreans use multiple credit cards, which has contributed to boosting private spending in the past few years, and their spending with plastic is often regarded as an indicator in measuring private consumption.

The South Korean economy expanded 0.9 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier, accelerating from the 0.5 percent on-quarter rise the previous quarter, as private consumption showed signs of recovery from a pullback following the mid-April ferry disaster, data from the central bank showed. (Yonhap)