IMF forecasts Korea's growth rate at 2.6% this year... reflecting the semiconductor boom
IMF raises Korea's growth outlook to 2.6%, with semiconductor demand driving growth See the global economic trends, including next year's 2.5% outlook and the positive impact of AI exports
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected South Korea's economic growth rate for this year at 2.6%, raising its forecast by 0.7 percentage points from April. The IMF explained that strong semiconductor demand partially offset the negative impact of the war in the Middle East.
The IMF also projected South Korea's growth rate for next year at 2.5%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from its previous forecast. It also referred to South Korea, along with Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia, as one of the top four net exporters of AI hardware, and assessed that semiconductor and AIrelated exports are contributing to growth.
The outlook for the global economy was set at 3.0% for this year and 3.4% for next year. While pointing to risk factors such as developments in the Middle East, trade fragmentation, and weakened policy space, the IMF advised that monetary policy centered on price stability and temporary fiscal responses targeted at vulnerable groups are needed.