Economic Bulletin | KDI 경제교육·정보센터

KDI 경제교육·정보센터

Economic Information and Education Center

발행물

Economic Trends

The Green Book: Current Economic Trends

Overview Employment and inflation remain stable, but the Korean economy appears to slow down somewhat due to a high base effect from October 2013. Production and consumption indices improved during the October-November period compared with the third quarter. The economy added 588,000 jobs year-on-year in November, up from 476,000 in the previous month. Consumer price inflation went down year？on-year in December from 1.2 percent to 1.1 percent (reweighted index), posting an increase of around 1.0 percent for 14 consecutive months. Mining and manufacturing production stayed unchanged from the previous month in November as strong semiconductors and chemical products offset a decrease in automobiles and mobile phones. Service output increased by 0.1 percent backed by rising financial insurance services and education services. Retail sales rose 0.9 percent in November compared with the previous month thanks to a rise in semidurable goods sales despite poor durable and nondurable goods sales. The rise was led by strong seasonal clothing sales due to cold weather. Facility investment declined by 5.5 percent month-on-month in November in line with a fall in machinery imports and the imports of large aircrafts. The value of construction completed slipped by 0.2 percent due to poor civil engineering works. The cyclical indicator of the conincident composite index stayed unchanged month-on-month in November, and the cyclical indicator of the leading composite index went up by 0.2 points. Exports grew by 7.1 percent year-on-year in December due to recovering advanced economies and an increase in days worked (up 1.5 days) . The trade balance remained in the black at US$3.68 billion. In December stock prices rebounded somewhwat from their fall at the beginning of the month as the Feds announcement of quantitative easing tapering removed uncertainties. The won slightly weakened. Housing prices continued to increase month-on-month in December (0.19% - 0.16%), while rental prices of Jeonse homes (lump-sum deposits with no monthly payments) rose at a slower pace from 0.52 percent to 0.42 percent. The Korean economy has showed clear signs of recovery. However, private sector recovery including investment has yet to firmly take hold, and external uncertainties concerning the US fiscal situation, quantitative easing tapering and the weak yen remain. The Korean government will closely monitor the global and domestic economic situations and continue to pursue policies that boost domestic demand and employment in order to support the working class. The government will also focus on reforming the economy and improving service sector regulations. * For further details, please refer to the attached file

Jan 2014