South Korea’s economic growth ranked second among major advanced and emerging economies in the third quarter of the year on brisk exports and increased fiscal spending, data showed Monday. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s economic growth ranked second among major advanced and emerging economies in the third quarter of the year on brisk exports and increased fiscal spending, data showed Monday.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy expanded 1.4 percent in the July-September period from three months earlier, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
It was the second-highest on-quarter increase among the OECD members after 1.5 percent for Latvia, which joined the Paris-based organization last year.
The average on-quarter growth rate of the OECD economies stood at 0.6 percent for the three-month period, down from 0.8 percent three months earlier.
South Korea last registered the second-biggest economic expansion among the OECD nations in the first quarter of 2010, when its gross domestic product added 2.2 percent on-quarter. In the third quarter of 2009, the country chalked up the highest rate of 2.8 percent.
South Korea’s strong economic performance for the third quarter of this year was attributed to the country’s resilient exports and the effect of an 11.03 trillion-won (US$10.2 billion) extra budget bill meant to create jobs and spur economic growth.
The country’s overseas shipments increased at a faster-than-expected clip of 6.1 percent on-quarter during the July-September period, the highest quarterly growth in 6 1/2 years.
The implementation of the extra budget helped government spending gain 2.3 percent on-quarter, the highest increase in 5 1/2 years, with growth in construction investment widening to 1.5 percent from 0.3 percent.
South Korea’s finance ministry and central bank have forecast the country’s economy to expand 3 percent in 2017 from a year earlier thanks mainly to brisk exports.
(Yonhap)
