S. Korea's central bank expects real GDP to contract 1.3 pct in 2020
Source: Xinhua | 2020-08-28
South Korea's central bank expected the country's real GDP to contract 1.3 percent this year due to an economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) revised down its growth outlook from the estimate of a 0.2-percent fall announced in May. It would mark the first negative growth since the foreign exchange crisis roiled the economy in 1998.
The real GDP was forecast to expand 2.8 percent in 2021, lower than the previous outlook of a 3.1-percent increase.
Outlook for headline inflation was set at 0.4 percent this year and 1.0 percent next year respectively.
The BOK said in a statement after the rate-setting meeting that the domestic economy's recovery would be slower than expected owing to the resurgence of COVID-19, vowing to maintain its accommodative monetary policy.
The central bank left its target rate unchanged at an all-time low of 0.50 percent. The bank cut the rate by 25 basis points in May, after slashing it by 50 basis points in March to tackle the economic downturn from the virus spread.
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