Seoul, March 7 (IANS) South Korea’s inflation is expected to continue hovering around 2 per cent for a while, the finance ministry here said on Friday, reaffirming efforts to keep consumer prices at a stable level.
Inflation came to 2 per cent in February thanks to a slowdown in price increases of petroleum and agricultural products, and is forecast to stay around that mark, First Vice Finance Minister Kim Beom-suk said.
Kim said the government will continue to put in all-out efforts to keep inflation at a stable level as uncertainties exist, including abnormal climate and volatility in global oil prices and domestic political issues, reports Yonhap news agency.
The ministry also plans to devise measures later this month to revitalize the tourism industry.
The number of inbound travellers from Japan and China is growing at a slower-than-anticipated pace, the ministry said, noting it will come up with measures to improve convenience for foreign visitors and develop attractive tourism content.
The ministry will also announce a plan to develop artificial intelligence (AI) models and install infrastructure for the technology later this month as part of efforts to bolster the country’s competitiveness in the field.
Meanwhile, corporate loans rose at the slowest pace in eight years in the fourth quarter of 2024 amid heightened uncertainties, central bank data showed on Friday.
The outstanding loans extended to local companies came to 1,962.2 trillion won ($1.36 trillion) as of end-December, up 3.3 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked the slowest growth since the fourth quarter of 2016, when the loans fell 900 billion won on-quarter.
By sector, loans to manufacturing firms fell 1.6 trillion won on-quarter to 483.4 trillion won as of end-December, marking the first quarterly fall since the fourth quarter of 2023.
Loans in the service sector, however, expanded 3.9 trillion won to 1,253.7 trillion won over the cited period, though the growth slowed from a 7.5 trillion-won increase in the previous quarter.
“Corporate demand for facility funds appeared to have shrunk due to uncertainties at home and abroad,” a BOK official said.
South Korea is facing multiple downside risks amid uncertainties stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariff plans and domestic political chaos caused by now-suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s shocking martial law imposition in December.
–IANS
na/
