SKorea cuts growth estimate

SKorea cuts growth estimate

SEOUL (AFP): South Korea's economy has come to a virtual standstill, with the central bank Thursday drastically revising down its previous third quarter growth estimate of 3.0 percent.

The Bank of Korea (BoK) said gross domestic product (GDP) was now expected to expand by only 0.5 percent in the three months to the end of September, down year-on-year from 2.7 percent in the second quarter and 3.7 percent in the first.

"We have not yet officially readjusted ... the GDP growth forecast, but the third quarter growth rate is likely to be a lot weaker than earlier forecasts," said a senior BoK official, who gave the 0.5 percent forecast.

He blamed the slowdown on weaker exports and sluggish corporate investment.

The central bank on Wednesday made its biggest ever interest rate cut in an attempt to jolt the economy into life after last week's terrorist attacks in the United States.

BoK officials also said full-year growth is expected to be far lower than the 3.8 percent it projected in June, but declined to provide specific projections.