NEW YORK: The growth of South Korea declined to a six year low in the fourth quarter of last year.
The economy grew a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in the October to December period from the previous quarter when growth hit 0.9%.
Fourth quarter growth of 2.7% from a year ago also missed market forecasts.
Economists said a slump in infrastructure spending and exports had a big impact on the country’s growth.
Construction investment fell by a seasonally adjusted 9.2%, the worst since 1998 as weaker tax revenue led the government to cut back spending on projects.
Barclays economist Wai Ho Leong said that annual growth of 3.3% in 2014 had fallen below the bank’s forecast of 3.5%.
“[Growth will] remain soft in the first quarter of 2015 before reaccelerating from the second quarter as the pass-through of lower oil prices rekindles global external demand,” he said in a note.
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