South Korean GDP beats forecast with 0.3 percent growthBloombergSouth Korea’s economy grew more than expected at the beginning of the year, providing the central bank with breathing room while also highlighting ongoing risks to growth. Photo: BloombergThe data would be a welcome sign for BOK officials who are trying to balance taming inflation with economic growth. Keeping its key rate unchanged this month for a second straight meeting, the central bank said that economic growth this year might be slightly below its earlier 1.6 percent forecast. Meanwhile, equipment spending weighed on the quarterly data, contracting the most in at least two years. “Weak equipment spending suggests the IT [information technology] sector has yet to recover,” Ebest Investment & Securities Co analyst Woo Hye-young said.

Source: Taipei Times April 26, 2023 00:15 UTC