[Economy 365]

Major global investment banks have raised their average growth forecast for the South Korean economy this year to 3% for the first time.

According to the Korea Center for International Finance, the average real GDP growth forecast for South Korea among eight global investment banks stood at 3% as of the end of June, up 0.2 percentage points from a month earlier.

JPMorgan raised its growth forecast from 3% to 3.7%, and Citibank also adjusted its projection upward to 3.5%.

This upward trend is attributed to strong exports, particularly in the semiconductor sector, with monthly exports surpassing 100 billion dollars for the first time in history last month.

The Bank of Korea is also expected to likely raise its growth forecast for this year in its revised economic outlook scheduled for next month.

The forecast for the current account surplus as a percentage of GDP this year has also reached an average of 14%, more than double the projection from the end of last year.

*This article was produced using AI audio.