South Korea's economic growth slowed in the second quarter from three months earlier, the central bank said Wednesday, as export gains eased sharply due partly to global economic uncertainties.
Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 0.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter in April-June compared to a 1.3 per cent expansion in January-March, according to an advance estimate from the Bank of Korea.
Gross domestic product rose 3.4 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, slowing down from a 4.2 per cent annual increase in January-March.
'Private consumption steadily increased and facilities investment rose. But growth in exports slowed while construction investment remained sluggish,' the central bank said in a statement.
Wednesday's figures showed that exports, which account for about half of GDP, rose 1.8 per cent in the second quarter from the previous quarter, slowing from a 3.3 per cent rise in January-March.
The fall came amid growing global uncertainty sparked by the eurozone debt crisis and a possible US debt default.
The second-quarter performance was slightly below the central bank's initial estimate early this month and the market's expectations.
However the bank said growth is likely to pick up to 1.5 per cent in both the third and fourth quarters, indicating the economy remains on a robust recovery track.
'Exports of tech products remained weak last quarter mainly because prices of flat panel and chips have not yet recovered,' said Kim Young-Bae, director general of its economic statistics division.
Source : New Age
