Growth Forecast Intact: Korea

A senior Bank of Korea official said on Monday that its full-year economic growth target of 4.5 per cent remains intact, even as the central bank revised second-quarter figures higher.Ahn Kil-hyo, head of the National Income Statistics Team of the bank''s Economic Statistics Department said he also expects private consumption to rise gradually in coming months.

Capital spending, however, may shrink in the second half of the year after a robust first six months of the year, he said.

Ahn said the country''s exports will continue to drive the economy in the second half of the year, though the outlook for domestic consumption appears ''positive'' in light of recent strong industrial output data.

Earlier on Monday, the central bank revised second-quarter growth figures upward to 1.8 per cent from the previous quarter. In late July, the bank''s preliminary estimate showed an expansion of 1.7 per cent over the previous quarter.

From the same period the year before, gross domestic product expanded five per cent, the bank said, compared with its July estimate of 4.9 per cent. South Korea''s economy grew five per cent in 2006.