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Global investment banks raise Korea's 2026 growth outlook

Published: 06 Nov. 2025, 17:01

Containers are stacked at a port in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 2. [YONHAP]

Major global investment banks have raised their outlook for Korea's 2026 economic growth, citing robust exports, a report showed Thursday.

As of end-October, eight major global investment banks, including Barclays, Bank of America and Citi, projected that the country's economy, the fourth-largest in Asia, will expand 1.9 percent next year. This represents a 0.1 percentage point increase from their median forecast published a month earlier, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance (KCIF).

The outlook is rosier than the Bank of Korea's (BOK) current projection of 1.6 percent growth for 2026. The central bank is scheduled to release a revised forecast later this month.

Among financial institutions, Citi made the largest upward change, revising its forecast to 2.2 percent from 1.6 percent. JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs were also bullish, likewise expecting South Korea's economy to grow 2.2 percent next year.

Nomura forecast a 1.9 percent expansion, followed by UBS with 1.8 percent, Barclays with 1.7 percent and Bank of America with 1.6 percent, the KCIF said.

The banks expect Korea's exports to remain solid next year, sustaining economic growth following this year's strong performance.

Additionally, the institutions raised their forecast for the ratio of the country's current account surplus to GDP in 2026 to 5.3 percent, up from their earlier projection of 4.7 percent.