South Korea Q4 GDP growth slows to 0.4% q-o-q vs 0.9% in Q3

[SEOUL] South Korea's economic growth more than halved to 0.4 per cent in the final quarter of 2014 on sequential terms from 0.9 per cent in the third quarter as construction spending plunged, central bank estimates showed on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted growth in gross domestic product matched the worst pace in almost six years and came exactly in line with the median forecast from a Reuters survey of 16 analysts.

Construction investment shrank by a seasonally adjusted 9.2 per cent in the October-December period from the previous quarter, the sharpest decline since the first quarter of 1998, Bank of Korea data showed.

On an annual basis, the economy grew 2.7 per cent in the December quarter, compared with a forecast median rise of 2.8 per cent in the Reuters survey and slower than a 3.2 per cent increase set in the third quarter.

REUTERS