SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's central bank on Tuesday slashed this year's growth outlook for the Asian economy by 0.4 percentage points amid growing uncertainties at home and abroad.
Real gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for inflation, was forecast to rise 1.5 percent in 2025, down compared with 1.9 percent estimated three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The BOK attributed the downward revision to uncertainties involving the U.S. tariff policy of President Donald Trump's administration and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law declaration that was revoked by the parliament in December last year.
The BOK forecast was lower than growth outlooks of 2.1 percent from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2.0 percent from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and 1.8 percent from the South Korean finance ministry.
Growth forecast for private consumption in 2025 was cut by 0.6 percentage points to 1.4 percent, while outlook for facility investment was lowered by 0.4 percentage points to 2.6 percent.
Investment in the construction sector was projected to drop 2.8 percent this year, while export and import of goods were forecast to climb 0.9 percent and 1.1 percent each.
Outlook for current account surplus was set at 75 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, down from 80 billion dollars estimated three months earlier.
The number of jobs was expected to rise 100,000 this year after swelling 160,000 last year. Forecast for jobless rate was placed at 2.9 percent.
The consumer price index (CPI) was predicted to go up 1.9 percent both in 2025 and 2026.
The country's real GDP was expected to grow 1.8 percent next year, unchanged from the previous estimate. ■
