SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's central bank on Friday lowered its 2019 growth outlook for the economy to 2.0 percent from 2.2 percent estimated four months earlier.
It was in line with forecasts provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI). The South Korean economy expanded 2.7 percent in 2018.
Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol told a press conference after the regular rate-setting meeting that export and investment were weaker than expected while private consumption slowed down.
Lee said next year's economic growth was expected to be slightly faster than this year on the eased slump in global trade and the recovery in global semiconductor industry.
The BOK set its 2020 growth forecast for the economy at 2.3 percent, down from 2.5 percent estimated four months earlier.
Governor Lee and six other monetary policy board members decided to keep the benchmark 7-day repurchase rate on hold at a record low of 1.25 percent.
It was not a unanimous decision as one member claimed a rate cut, raising the possibility for more accommodative monetary policy next year.
The BOK cut its target rate to the current record-low level in October, just three months after slashing it from 1.75 percent to 1.50 percent in July to bolster the lackluster economy.
The country's real gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for inflation, added 0.4 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier, after expanding 1.0 percent in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the BOK revised down this year's headline inflation outlook to 0.4 percent from 0.7 percent four months earlier.
The consumer price inflation was forecast to rise to 1.0 percent in 2020 and 1.3 percent in 2021 each on expectations for weaker downward pressure from the supply side, the bank noted.
The BOK governor said the downward revision for this year's inflation reflected lower-than-expected prices for crude oil and farm goods amid the weak domestic demand.
Private consumption, the other main engine of the country's economic growth, was forecast to rise 1.9 percent this year, before expanding 2.1 percent next year amid the expected recovery of consumer confidence in the latter half of 2020.
Facility investment was projected to tumble 7.8 percent in 2019 and rebound 4.9 percent in 2020 on the predicted investment increase in the semiconductor and display panel sectors next year.
Investment in the construction sector was expected to decline 4.3 percent this year and 2.3 percent next year each amid the government's measures to control speculative investment in the real estate market.
Export, which accounts for about half of the South Korean economy, was forecast to fall 0.4 percent this year, before rebounding 2.2 percent next year on the expected recovery in the global chip industry.
Outlook for current account surplus was set at 57 billion U.S. dollars this year and 56 billion U.S. dollars next year.
The economy was forecast to add 280,000 jobs in 2019 and 240,000 jobs in 2020 respectively.
