External conditions 'worsening' amid weak exports, investment: Finance Ministry

Arirang News 2019-07-12

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정부 "日 수출규제 등 대외여건 악화"…네 달째 투자•수출 부진 판단

Korea's finance ministry, for the first time,... pointed to Japan's new export curbs as a main reason behind possible decline in South Korea's growth,... raising red flags in the nation's economy.
Our Kim Da-mi has more.
The latest economic data shows,... that South Korea's domestic consumption is gradually improving,... but its exports and investment remain sluggish.
That's according to the finance ministry's greenbook report for July.
For the fourth-straight month, it described the economy as stagnant,... due to Japan's new export curbs as well as global uncertainties such as the U.S.-China trade war.
This is the first time that the government pointed to Japan's latest export curbs as a threat to the country's economy.
The ministry also said external conditions are "worsening",... using stronger language to describe headwinds facing the local economy,... compared to its previous report.
Up until last month,... the ministry had said there were "growing uncertainties" in regards to external conditions.
Exports in June were down more than thirteen percent on-year,... mainly due to falling chip prices and China's slowing economy.
The country's outbound shipments, in fact,... have fallen for 7 straight months, since last December.
Industrial output was one of the few bright spots in the country's overall economic picture,... showing a gradual improvement up until April.
In May, however, it dipped half a percent from a month earlier because of a slump in the mining and manufacturing sector.
Consumer prices rose point-seven percent in June from a year earlier,... well short of the government's two-percent target,... weighed by a decline in petroleum products prices.
With all of these red flags being seen in the economy,... the finance ministry once again urged the National Assembly to pass the government's supplementary budget bill as soon as possible.
On top of that,... the ministry also vowed to come up with measures to boost investment and consumption in the second half of 2019.
Kim Da-mi, Arirang News.

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