South Korean growth slowing down

South Korea's economy is set to grow at 5% this year

South Korea's economy grew 6.2% year on year in the first quarter, the nation's central bank said, pointing to gains in private consumption and exports.

But weaker manufacturing and capital spending saw Asia's fourth largest economy grow 1.3% in the quarter against 1.6% in the previous quarter.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth was at its strongest since late 2002.

Meanwhile growth for 2005 came in at 4.0%, down from 4.6% in 2004. The economy is set to grow by 5% in 2006.

Export fears

"The first-quarter GDP figures show that our economy has been on a recovery track since the second half of last year," said Kim Byung-Hwa, a director at the bank

He predicted the upward trend would continue well into the second half of 2006 although the pace of the recovery could slow slightly.

For the quarter to March, exports rose 2.6% compared with the fourth quarter while imports were up 2.1%, the central bank said.

The rise came despite fears that high oil prices and the strong value of the won could hit Korea's economic growth, which is heavily dependent on exports.

"If you look at the components there are quite a few worrisome points," said Oh Suktae, economist for Citigroup in Seoul.