Economic Bulletin | KDI 경제교육·정보센터

KDI 경제교육·정보센터

Economic Information and Education Center

발행물

Economic Trends

The Green Book: Current Economic Trends

Overview The Korean economy has seen inflation and employment remain stable, with major economic indicators such as production, consumption, and investment as well as exports somewhat recovering. In September, due to a low base effect from the previous years Chuseok holiday, 685,000 jobs were added, and the employment rate and jobless rate also improved. Consumer prices in October continued to be within a 2 percent range at 2.1 percent as benign weather conditions contributed to a fall in agricultural product prices, and industrial products and public utilities prices stabilized. Mining and manufacturing production went up 0.8 percent month-on-month in September due to the auto industry strikes ending, while service output was up 0.7 percent compared to the previous month thanks to expanded wholesale retail sales. In September, retail sales moved up 1.5 percent from a month ago as durable goods sales as well as semi-durable and non-durable goods sales all rose. The facility investment index in September rose 6.2 percent compared to the previous month due to an increase in machinery and transportation equipment investment. Construction investment climbed 3.9 percent on the back of a rise in building construction. Exports in October turned positive for the first time in four months, increasing 1.2 percent year-on-year thanks to a considerable increase in exports to China and ASEAN countries. The current account posted a surplus of US$3.8 billion. The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index in September was unchanged from a month ago, while the leading composite index fell 0.7 points month-on-month. In October, stock prices fell due to concerns over a slowing real economy both at home and abroad, but bond prices stabilized and the value of the won rose. Housing prices continued to decline, registering another 0.2 percent drop in October, driven especially by a fall in housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area, while rental prices growth accelerated to 0.6 percent from the previous months 0.4 percent. There is continuing uncertainty at home and abroad over the weakening global economy, scheduled political events in major economies, delayed recovery in consumer and investment sentiment, and falling leading indicators. The Korean government will closely monitor the global and domestic economy, while reinforcing policy responses to stimulate the economy. At the same time, the government will focus on stabilizing the lives of low- and middle-income classes through job creation and by stabilizing the prices of necessities, while continuing to carry out policy actions to improve the health of the economy. * For further details, please refer to the attached file

Nov 2012