South Korea Q4 GDP up 0.6% seasonally adjusted quarter on quarter, slightly lower than expected

[SEOUL] South Korea's economic growth more than halved to 0.6 per cent in the final quarter of 2015 in sequential terms from 1.3 per cent in the third quarter as construction hobbled the ongoing recovery, central bank estimates showed on Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted 0.6 per cent growth in gross domestic product slightly lagged the median forecast of 0.7 per cent from a Reuters survey of 20 analysts.

Construction investment dropped by a seasonally adjusted 6.1 per cent in the October-December period from the previous quarter, the Bank of Korea figures showed, its worst fall in a year.

On an annual basis, the economy grew 3.0 per cent in the December quarter, matching a median 3.0 per cent rise projected in the Reuters survey and accelerating from a 2.7 per cent increase set in the third quarter.

For the whole of 2015, South Korea's GDP rose 2.6 per cent versus a gain of 3.3 per cent in 2014.

REUTERS