2019.04.2420:55:00UTC+00South Korea Q1 GDP Contracts 0.3% On Quarter

South Korea's gross domestic product was down a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2019, the Bank of Korea said in Thursday's advanced estimate.

That follows the 1.0 percent increase in the three months prior.

Real gross domestic income picked up 0.2 percent on quarter because of an improvement in terms of trade, the bank said.

On the expenditure side, private consumption expanded by 0.1 percent, due mainly to an increase in consumption of durable goods such as home appliances, despite decreases in services and consumption of semi-durable goods.

Government consumption increased by 0.3 percent, with increased health care benefits.

Construction investment contracted by 0.1 percent, mainly due to declines in residential building construction and civil engineering.

Facilities investment declined by 10.8 percent, due to decreases in machinery and transportation equipment.

Exports contracted by 2.6 percent, led by decreases in exports of electrical and electronic equipment such as LCDs. Imports also decreased by 3.3 percent, owing to a contraction in imports of machinery and equipment along with those of coal and petroleum products.

On the production side, agriculture, forestry and fishing production expanded by 4.7 percent, due mainly to an increase in agricultural products.

Manufacturing decreased by 2.4 percent, centering around electrical and electronic equipment and chemical products.

Electricity, gas and water supply contracted by 7.3 percent, with decreased sales of electricity.

Construction declined by 0.4 percent, owing to decreases in residential building construction and civil engineering.

Services rose by 0.9 percent, led by growth in information and communication services and finance and insurance services, in spite of a decline in wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels and health and social work services.

On an annualized yearly basis, GDP climbed 1.8 percent, slowing from the 2.7 percent increase in the previous three months.