South Korea’s central bank announced Monday (Dec. 1) that the gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.3% in the third quarter from the previous quarter. This is unchanged from the previous estimate despite the central bank raising interest rates and slowing exports. GDP growth in the third quarter slowed from 0.7% in the second quarter but was higher than the 0.2% increase in the same period last year.
According to the report, public consumption rose 0.3% in the third quarter, while private consumption increased 1.7%.
Utility investment rose 7.9%, but construction investment fell 0.2%.
On November 24, the Bank of Korea raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%, the highest level since July 2012 and the sixth consecutive rate hike. At the meeting that day, the Bank of Korea also lowered its outlook for the domestic economy in 2023 to 1.7% from the previous estimate of 2.1% and lowered its inflation outlook for 2023 to 3.6% from 3.7%.