2024.02.1407:00:00UTC+00South Korea 2024 Inflation Forecast Lowered To 2.5% - KDI

The Korea Development Institute on Wednesday lowered South Korea's inflation forecast for this year to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent projected earlier, citing slower growth in domestic demand.

The think tank expects employment to growth by 220,000 persons, despite the slowdown in domestic demand, which was slightly better than the 210,000 projected earlier.

The increase reflects the expansion of labor supply among women in their 30s and the elderly, the KDI said.

The economic growth rate is forecast to improve to 2.2 percent, same as the earlier projection, from 1.4 percent last year.

Growth is expected to be underpinned by robust gains in exports. The export growth forecast was raised to 4.7 percent from 3.8 percent due to the rebound in the semiconductor economy and upgrades to the global economic growth outlook.

Private consumption growth forecast was lowered to 1.7 percent from 1.8 percent.

Fixed asset investment growth projection was retained at 2.3 percent, while investment in construction is expected to fall 1.4 percent. The forecasted decline is worse than the earlier projection, reflecting the downturn in the real estate market.