SEOUL, May 13 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean state-run think tank on Wednesday revised up this year's growth outlook for the Asian country by 0.6 percentage points to 2.5 percent, reflecting improvements in both exports and consumption.
The revision, up from a growth of 1.9 percent estimated three months earlier, was attributed to a boom in semiconductor exports and an enhanced consumer demand, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said, adding that the real GDP was forecast to rise 1.7 percent in 2027.
In terms of volume, exports were projected to increase 4.5 percent in 2026 and 1.8 percent in 2027.
Private consumption was predicted to climb 2.2 percent this year and 1.5 percent next year.
This year's growth forecast for facility investment was set at 3.3 percent, and the outlook for construction investment was placed at 0.1 percent.
Outlook for current account surplus reached 239.0 billion U.S. dollars for 2026 and 213.7 billion dollars for 2027.
Inflation forecasts were put at 2.7 percent for this year and 2.2 percent for next year. ■
