SMM7, March 24: according to recent reports, data released by the Bank of Korea on the 23rd showed that South Korea's gross national product (GDP) shrank 2.9% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year and 3.3% month-on-month, the worst performance in a single quarter since 1998. South Korean exports fell 13.6 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the worst since the fourth quarter of 1974, according to the data.
Among them, private consumption continued to decline, down 4.1% from the same period last year, but increased by 1.4% month-on-month, mainly due to the pull of consumption by relevant government subsidies; the government expanded spending to ensure that the local economy was maintained, but private sector investment continued to be weak. Investment in construction and equipment shrank by 1.3% and 2.9%, respectively.
According to SMM, South Korea's export business as a whole has a downward trend in the first half of 2020, including steel production and foreign trade. With the economic contraction, the demand for crude steel in infrastructure construction in the market is reduced, so the demand for steelmaking raw materials in South Korean steel mills may be relatively reduced.
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