Merrill Lynch Revises Korea"s Growth Forecast from 2.2 to 4.5%

Merrill Lynch Securities revised Korea's economic growth rate.
According to the Bank of Korea on April 22, the American-based securities company revised its growth rate forecast for Korea's Gross Domestic Product in 1999 to 4.5 percent. Earlier it had predicted a 2.2 percent growth rate, but because the Korean economy is estimated to recover faster than expected and continue its recovery pace, Merrill Lynch doubled its projected calculations.
Merrill Lynch also forecasted that Korean industrial production will rise 5.9 percent this year, thanks to lowered interest rates and a sharp reduction in inventory.
It predicted that consumer consumption will rise two to three percent from its negative one percent, previously forecasted, due to the recovery of consumer confidence. However, it feels the unemployment rate will increase stemming from the restructuring of companies across the nation.
Exports are estimated to rise 1 percent while Korean imports could surge 23.5 percent over last year. Korea's current account surplus will drop to 18.2 billion dollars compared to the 40 billion dollars secured last year.
Jangsoo Seo:jsbee@joongang.co.kr