South Korea's gross domestic product gained a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent on quarter in the first three months of 2022, the Bank of Korea said in Tuesday's advance estimate.
That exceeded expectations for an increase of 0.6 percent following the 1.2 percent expansion in the previous three months.
Real gross domestic income increased 0.6 percent on quarter and 0.1 percent on year.
On the expenditure side, private consumption fell by 0.5 percent, as expenditures on semi-durable goods (e.g. clothing and footwear) and services (e.g. recreation and culture, transport, restaurants & accommodation) decreased.
Government consumption maintained, as expenditures on goods went up while social security benefits in kind fell. Construction investment declined by 2.4 percent, as building construction and civil engineering decreased.
Facilities investment contracted by 4.0 percent due to decreases in both machinery and transportation equipment. Exports increased by 4.1 percent, as exports of goods such as semiconductors and coal and petroleum products expanded. Imports were up by 0.7 percent, owing to increased imports of crude oil.
On the production side, agriculture, forestry & fishing increased by 4.1 percent, mainly due to increased livestock production.
Manufacturing rose by 3.4 percent, mainly due to increases in computer, electronic and optical products and chemical products. Electricity, gas & water supply rose by 3.8 percent, due to an increase in electricity.
Construction contracted by 0.6 percent, owing to decreases in both building construction and civil engineering. Services fell by 0.1 percent, as transportation and storage and cultural and other services decreased, despite an increase in finance and insurance.
On a yearly basis, GDP rose 3.1 percent - again beating forecasts for 2.8 percent and down from 4.2 percent in the three months prior.
