South Korea GDP Revised Up To 0.7% In Q4

(RTTNews) - South Korea's gross domestic product was revised to a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Bank of Korea said on Friday.

That's up from January's preliminary reading that suggested an increase of 0.6 percent, although it slowed from the 1.3 percent jump in the third quarter.

On a yearly basis, GDP was revised up to 3.1 percent from 3.0 percent in January. It also accelerated from 2.7 percent in the three months prior.

For all of 2015, GDP was unrevised at 2.6 percent, slowing from 3.3 percent in 2014.

The growth in real GDP was mainly due to increases in private and government consumption, and the expansion of construction investment growth. The growth of intellectual property products investment and that of exports meanwhile slowed. Real gross national income increased 6.5 percent on year.

Agriculture, forestry & fishing fell 1.5 percent in 2015, mainly due to a drought. Manufacturing showed a slower increase of 1.3 percent. While the growth of petroleum products expanded, electronic and electrical equipment showed a sluggish growth rate.

Construction rose by 3.0 percent. While civil engineering decreased by 2.9 percent, building construction increased centering on residential building construction. Services expanded 2.8 percent, as growth in wholesale and retail trade, finance and insurance increased. The growth of restaurants and hotels shifted to negative.

Private consumption grew by 2.2 percent in 2015. While the growth of semi-durable goods and services expenditure showed a sluggish pace, the consumption of durable goods expanded significantly. Gross fixed capital formation rose by 3.8 percent.

Construction investment increased by 3.9 percent, mainly owing to the growth of residential building construction. Facilities investment grew by 5.3 percent, driven by transportation equipment investment. Intellectual property products investment increased by 1.5 percent.

Exports of goods & services went up by 0.8 percent, led by the growth in exports of petroleum products, and miscellaneous services.

In 2015, nominal gross domestic product increased 4.9 percent to 1,558.6 trillion won. The GDP deflator climbed 2.2 percent in 2015, more than the 0.6 percent increase during the previous year.