Economic Bulletin | KDI 경제교육·정보센터

KDI 경제교육·정보센터

Economic Information and Education Center

발행물

Economic Trends

The Green Book: Current Economic Trends

Overview Koreas economic recovery has gained momentum as major real economic indicators, including production, consumption and investment, all improved, and employment and inflation remain stable. The economy added 432,000 jobs year-on-year in August, up from 367,000 in the previous month. Consumer price inflation went down year-on-year in September from 1.3 percent to 0.8 percent due to a fall in agricultural and petroleum product prices. Despite energy consumption restriction measures negatively affecting steel and chemical industries, mining and manufacturing production rose 1.8 percent month-on-month in August, in line with an improvement in the automobile and IT sectors. Service output increased by 0.7 percent from the previous month due to strong financial insurance services and entertainment, cultural sports services. Retail sales rose 0.4 percent in August compared with the previous month, as strong semi-durable and nondurable goods sales offset a decline in durable goods sales. Facility investment increased 0.2 percent month-on-month in August backed by strong transportation equipment investment, while construction investment went up by 0.1 percent due to an improvement in building construction. The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index went up 0.2 points month-on-month in August, and the leading composite index rose 0.3 points, increasing for five consecutive months. Exports fell 1.5 percent year-on-year in September, despite strong exports of semiconductors and vessels, and an increase in exports to China and the ASEAN countires, due to two fewer days worked as the Chuseok holiday fell in the month. The trade balance remained in the black at US$3.71 billion. In September, stock prices rose and the won strengthened, despite worries regarding the early tapering of quantitative easing in the US, due to foreign investors net buying of Korean stocks and an increase in the current account surplus. Housing prices increased month-on-month in September for the first time in three months from a 0.13 percent fall to a 0.05 percent rise, while rental prices stayed on an upward track, up from 0.42 percent to 0.51 percent. The Korean economy has showed clear signs of recovery. However, private sector investment has yet to pick up and external uncertainites, which include the US fiscal situation and the exit from unconventional monetary stimulus, remain. The Korean government will closely monitor the global and domestic economic situations and continue to pursue policies that stimulate the economy, such as measures to boost investment. The government will also focus on supporting the lives of the low- and middle-income classes through job creation and by stabilizing the prices of necessities, while continuing to adopt policies to strengthen the economy. * For further details, please refer to the attached file

Oct 2013