SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the second quarter was revised down by 0.1 percentage point, lowering a possibility for the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s interest rate hike later this year, BOK data showed Tuesday.
Real GDP, adjusted for inflation, was 397.96 trillion won (357.14 billion U.S. dollars) in the April-June quarter, up 0.6 percent from the previous quarter.
It was down from the premilitary figure of a 0.7 percent expansion unveiled in July. The real GDP growth rebounded to 1.0 percent in the first quarter from minus 0.2 percent in the prior quarter, before slowing in the second quarter.
In the January-June period, the real GDP increased 2.8 percent compared with the same period of last year, missing this year's growth outlooks of 2.9 percent estimated by the BOK and the government.
It raised the possibility for the BOK to cut its growth forecast for this year further in October, reducing the possibility for the central bank's rate increase later this year.
The BOK refrained from altering its target rate since it lifted the rate to the current level of 1.50 percent in November last year from an all-time low of 1.25 percent.
South Korea's policy rate fell below the U.S. benchmark rate, which was lifted in June to a range of 1.75-2.00 percent, fueling worry about a foreign capital outflow from the local financial market to seek a high-yield asset.
One of the seven BOK policy board members claimed a 25-basis-point rate hike twice during the past rate-setting meetings, but yields on the local bond market declined to reflect the lowered possibility for the rate hike amid the worsening economic indicators.
Facility investment declined 5.7 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, marking the lowest in nine quarters.
Construction investment shrank 2.1 percent, 0.8 percentage points lower than the preliminary figure. The investment in the construction sector grew 1.8 percent in the first quarter.
Private consumption rose 0.3 percent, but it was the lowest increase in six quarters. Fiscal spending grew 0.3 percent, the lowest since the first quarter of 2015.
Exports, which take up about half of the export-driven economy, gained 0.4 percent in the quarter, but it was down 0.4 percentage points from the preliminary figure.
Imports retreated 3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, indicating the weakening domestic demand. It was the biggest fall since the third quarter of 2011.
By industry, growth in the manufacturing sector declined to 0.6 percent in the second quarter from 1.6 percent in the prior quarter.
The figure in the construction industry turned downward to minus 3.1 percent in the second quarter from a growth of 2.1 percent in the first quarter. It was the highest reduction since the first quarter of 2012.
Expansion in the services industry halved to 0.5 percent in the second quarter from 1.1 percent in the prior quarter.
Real gross national income (GNI), adjusted for inflation, slumped 1 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter.
The GNI refers to the combined income, including wage, dividend and interest income, earned at home and aboard by people of a country.
