Bloomberg: South Korea's Q2 Growth at -1.8% This Year... 'Second Highest Among G20'

Only China Among G20 Expected to Grow 2%
US, Japan, Europe Forecast Double-Digit Negative Growth

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Although South Korea's economic growth rate for the second quarter is expected to record negative growth, it is projected to be the second highest among the Group of Twenty (G20) countries. The situation is bad, but it is relatively better compared to other countries.

On the 28th, Bloomberg compiled growth rate forecasts from 24 domestic and international investment banks (IB) and economic research institutes, predicting that South Korea's real gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of this year will decrease by 1.8% compared to the same period last year. This is 0.2% worse than the estimate made in April. It is the first time in 10 years since the global financial crisis that the South Korean economy has recorded negative growth on a quarterly basis.

Although the indicators do not look good, other countries are in worse conditions. South Korea's economic growth rate was the second highest among the G20. Only China (2.0%) continued to show growth, while all others recorded negative growth. The overall G20 second-quarter economic growth forecast was -18.1%.

In particular, the United States is predicted to have a second-quarter growth rate of -34.5% (seasonally adjusted annual rate compared to the previous quarter). Earlier, the U.S. also showed -5% growth in the first quarter of this year. Japan is also expected to record a growth rate of -22.3% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of this year. Even Germany, which was relatively considered to have performed well, recorded -11.9%. European advanced countries such as France (-19.6%), the United Kingdom (-18.1%), and Italy (-18.5%) also showed the worst growth rates.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.