Gov’t Upwardly Revises 2024 Growth Outlook from 2.2% to 2.6%

The government upwardly revised its growth outlook for this year from two-point-two to two-point-six percent, buoyed by faster-than-expected recovery in the nation’s exports.

The finance ministry on Wednesday projected the real gross domestic product(GDP) to expand two-point-six percent this year, up zero-point-four percentage points from its forecast last year.

The government’s outlook is the same as those from the Korea Development Institute(KDI) and the OECD, and higher than two-point-five percent projected by the Bank of Korea(BOK).

Outbound shipments have been steadily rising on-year since last October, with exports of semiconductors setting a new record of 13-point-four U.S. dollars in June.

The government predicted recovery in exports to continue during the year’s second half, citing a gradual growth in the global economy and improvements in the semiconductor industry amid growing demand for artificial intelligence.

The government, meanwhile, has kept its forecast for this year’s inflation at two-point-six percent.