SEOUL: South Korean economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the second quarter from the preceding three months on strong private consumption lifted by eased Covid-19 restrictions, central bank estimates showed today (July 26).
The Bank of Korea (BOK) estimated gross domestic product (GDP) for the April-June period had been 0.7% higher than in the previous quarter, after a 0.6% rise seen in the January-March period and 1.3% in the last quarter of 2021.
It was stronger than a 0.4% gain tipped in a Reuters survey of 14 economists.
Second-quarter GDP for Asia’s fourth-largest economy was 2.9% higher than a year earlier, compared with a median forecast for annual 2.5% growth seen in the same survey.
Private consumption jumped 3.0%, the best in a year, after a 0.5% decline in the first quarter as the government removed almost all social-distancing restrictions aimed at fighting the spread of coronavirus infections by the end of…
