South Korea’s GDP growth likely to have accelerated in Q4 2019

The South Korean preliminary estimate of the fourth quarter’s GDP growth is set to release tomorrow. According to a DBS Bank research report, the GDP growth is likely to have accelerated to 3.9 percent quarter-on-quarter from the third quarter’s 1.7 percent. For the whole of 2019, the GDP is likely to have grown 2 percent. Domestic demand is expected to have been the main growth driver.

The high-frequency indicators including retail sales, property sales, consumer sentiment and services output indicated marked rebound in the December quarter, aided by the government’s and the central bank’s fiscal and monetary stimulus measures. Exports have remained sluggish.

“But some signs of stabilisation have emerged since Dec19, thanks to the bottoming-out of electronics cycle and the easing of China-US trade tensions”, added DBS Bank.