July 26, 2022

SEOUL, July 26 (Reuters) - South Korean economic growth unexpectedly picked up in the second quarter as strong consumption on eased COVID-19 restrictions offset poor exports, supporting the case for further central bank interest rate hikes.

The Bank of Korea estimated on Tuesday gross domestic product for the April-June period rose 0.7% quarter-on-quarter, faster than the 0.6% growth in the first quarter and above a 0.4% rise tipped in a Reuters survey.

Economists said the upbeat data allowed the central bank, which this month delivered an unprecedented 50 basis-point rate hike, to continue tightening policy in coming months.

Read more:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/skoreas-economic-growth-unexpectedly-picks-up-q2-2022-07-25/