South Korea’s Economy Grows Faster Than Expected in Third Quarter

South Korea’s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, with gross domestic product expanding 1.0% from the preceding three months. This expansion exceeded the median 0.7% increase predicted in a Reuters poll of economists. On a year-on-year basis, GDP grew 3.4%, which was stronger than the 3.0% increase expected by economists.

The growth was driven by a boom in semiconductor exports fueled by artificial intelligence investment, according to WSJ Economy and Investing.com. Investing.com reports that exports rose 2.3% during the quarter due to demand for semiconductors, machinery, and electric equipment. Additionally, facilities investment increased 4.1%, led by semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

While exports remain strong, private consumption fell 0.2%, marking its first decline in nearly four years. Investing.com notes that South Korea's exports for the first nine months of the year topped $800 billion, putting the country on track to potentially exceed $1 trillion this year.

Brief written by urgent.news from WSJ Economy, Investing.com — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.