SOUTH KOREA: Q1 GPD Revised Up: Eyes Turn to July BOK

Jun-08 23:11

Korea's economy grew at the fastest pace in more than 5 years in the Q1, supported by strong exports and better domestic demand.
GDP was revised up to +1.8%, 0.1 percentage point higher than the earlier estimate and the reading marked the strongest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2020, when the economy expanded +2.3 percent.
YoY the economy expanded +3.8%, a sharp pickup from the +1.6 percent growth recorded in Q4 and the highest since the fourth quarter of 2021, when the economy grew +4.5% for the full year.
The BOK said the upward revision to Q1 GDP came as updated statistics related to facility investment and private consumption were reflected in the latest figures. Asia's fourth-largest economy contracted 0.1 percent on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2025 due to sluggish manufacturing.
Rising global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure boosted demand for semiconductors, pushing up the country's exports by +5.9 percent -- the highest increase since the third quarter of 2020 -- and facility investment by 6.6 percent, marking the strongest growth in four years.
The central bank earlier revised up its 2026 growth estimate to 2.6 percent, citing solid exports driven by a semiconductor super cycle.
Based on solid economic growth, the BOK has shown signs of a possible rate hike in the near future. The central bank's upcoming rate-setting meeting is slated for July and currently our KRW swaps model point to a rate hike.

Want to read more?

Find more articles and bullets on these widgets:

May-09 02:48

May-09 02:46

May-09 01:27

MNI TV: Key Exclusive Highlights For Week 30

Jul-24 06:26

MNI INTERVIEW: UK Consumer Enjoys July 'Burnham Bounce' - GfK

Jul-24 05:54

MNI ASIA PAC Weekly Macro Wrap:

Jul-24 05:51