South Korea GDP Climbs 0.6% In Q4

South Korea's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Bank of Korea said in Tuesday's preliminary reading. That was in line with expectations following the 1.3 percent jump in the third quarter.

Real gross domestic income increased 0.7 percent during the same period.

On the expenditure side, private consumption expanded 1.5 percent as expenditures on both durable goods and services increased. Construction investment fell 6.1 percent, with a decrease in civil engineering. Facilities investment added 0.9 percent, led by the growth of investment in transport equipment, offsetting a decline of investment in machinery, the bank said.

Intellectual property products investment added 0.3 percent, centering on R&D investment by government. Exports were up 2.1 percent, led by those of goods such as chemical products and automobiles. Imports rose 2.8 percent, as imports of petroleum and chemical products, and transport equipment increased. On the production side, manufacturing gained 0.6 percent, mainly due to an expansion in petroleum and chemical products, and semiconductors. Electricity, gas and water supply advanced 1.0 percent, mainly due to growth in the electricity supply, as the proportion of electricity generated by nuclear power with its high generating efficiency increased.

Construction slipped 0.4 percent, centering on civil engineering. Services expanded 0.8 percent, as gains were seen in wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels, transportation and storage, and health and social work. On a yearly basis, GDP advanced 3.0 percent - also in line with forecasts and up from 2.7 percent in the three months prior. For all of 2015, GDP was up 2.6 percent, slowing from 3.3 percent in 2014. On the expenditure side, although private consumption and construction investment enlarged and facilities investment sustained steady growth, intellectual property products investment and exports slowed, the bank noted.

On the production side, the growth in construction accelerated and services showed a similar level of growth compared to the previous year, but the growth rate of manufacturing declined considerably.

Real GDI climbed 6.4 percent, a pace greatly exceeding that of GDP, as losses in the previous year from trade in real terms swung back to gains with an improvement in the terms of trade, mainly due to a drop in oil prices.

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