2017.03.2720:15:00UTC+00South Korea GDP Bumped Up To 0.5% In Q4

South Korea's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted annualized 0.5 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2016, the Bank of Korea said in Tuesday's revised reading.

That was moved up from 0.4 percent in January's preliminary reading and was unchanged from the three months prior.

On a yearly basis, GDP was revised up to 2.4 percent from January's 2.3 percent. In the third quarter, GDP had expanded 2.6 percent.

For all of 2016, GDP was moved up to 2.8 percent - up from 2.7 percent in the preliminary read and from 2.6 percent in 2015.

The growth in real GDP was mainly due to increases in private and government consumption, and the expansion of construction investment growth. The growth of facilities investment meanwhile shifted to negative.

Real gross national income climbed 4.0 percent on year.

Agriculture, forestry & fishing fell 2.9 percent in 2016, mainly due to deteriorating weather conditions.

Manufacturing jumped 2.3 percent. While transportation equipment contracted, the growth in petroleum & chemical products and electrical & electronic equipment expanded.

Construction advanced 10.5 percent. While civil engineering fell 1.9 percent, residential & non-residential building construction increased.

Services showed a slower expansion of 2.3 percent. While the growth in wholesale & retail trade and transportation & storage expanded, the growth of finance & insurance showed a sluggish growth rate.

Private consumption gained 2.5 percent in 2016, with increases in the consumption of non-durable and durable goods.

Gross fixed capital formation climbed 5.2 percent. Construction investment gained 10.7 percent, mainly owing to the growth in residential building construction.

Facilities investment lost 2.3 percent, driven by investment in machinery and transportation equipment. Intellectual property products investment was up 2.3 percent.

Exports of goods & services went up 2.1 percent, as the exports of semiconductor and chemical products increased

In 2016 gross domestic product at current prices rose 4.7 percent to 1,637.4 trillion won. GNI per capita in US dollar terms marked a year-on-year increase of 1.4 percent to $27,561 in 2016.

The GDP deflator climbed 1.8 percent in 2016.

The gross saving ratio picked up 0.2 percentage point, from 35.6 percent in 2015 to 35.8 percent in 2016. The gross domestic investment ratio gained 0.4 percentage point, from 28.9 percent to 29.3 percent.