Economic uncertainty over fourth wave of COVID-19 despite recovery trend: Greenbook report

기재부, "4차 대유행에 내수 불확실성 지속"

Despite some positive economic indicators in recent months,... South Korea's Finance Ministry is painting a grim picture in its latest economic report due to the fourth wave of COVID-19.
Officials are worried local demand will dry up, especially for in-person services.
Kim Sung-min reports.
While South Korea's major economic indicators have been showing positive signs of recovery for the past few months,... downside risks from the pandemic's fourth wave continue to dampen the bright outlook.

"The country's economy has been seeing robust exports and an improvement in employment but with the resurgence of the virus, uncertainty is growing, especially in the local economy around in-person services." .

In its monthly economic report on Friday, the Finance Ministry noted that local demand in particular could take a hit.
Consumer sentiment in July dipped for the first time since December.
But, this latest drop in sentiment has not yet been reflected in the data.
Just looking at some of the indices,... there were some mixed trends with credit card spending growing almost 8 percent last month compared to a year ago.
The ministry said, it will take some time for the data to fully reflect the impact of the latest wave of infections.
The report also noted that the global COVID-19 situation as well as inflation pose further risks.
Such concerns come despite positive trends in some major economic indicators.
Exports in July rose almost thirty percent from the previous year and the latest overall industrial output jumped 6-point-7 percent on-year.
To maintain the current recovery trend and reduce risks, the ministry pledged for full efforts in cushioning the possible hit of the strict virus prevention measures.
Kim Sung-min, Arirang News

#economic_indicators #COVID19 #Finance_Ministry

2021-08-20 12:00 (KST)