SEOUL - South Korea’s first quarter economic growth likely slowed to the weakest pace in more than a year, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday, as exports faltered and investment activities cooled amid U.S.-China trade frictions.
From a year earlier, the economy probably expanded 2.5 percent in the first quarter, according to the median forecast of 17 economists, also slowing from 3.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter. “An over 8 percent fall in exports in the first quarter from a year ago was probably the worse among Asian countries. Undoubtedly, it should have caused a dent to GDP growth,” said Rob Carnell, an economist at ING, referring to an 8.2 percent decline in January-March shipments from a year earlier.
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