OECD Raises Growth Forecast for Major Economies But Not Korea

The OECD on Monday raised its global growth forecast for this year from 2.7 percent to 3 percent but left Korea's unchanged at 1.5 percent.

While the growth forecasts for major G20 countries like Brazil, Japan and the U.S. are more positive, the situation in Korea is stagnant.

In June, the OECD had slashed Korea's growth projection by 0.1 percentage point from the March forecast of 1.6 percent. There were expectations it would reduce it even further this time, but at least the OECD maintained the previous forecast.

The projection for Korea's growth rate next year also remained unchanged at 2.1 percent, this year's inflation rate at 3.4 percent and next year's at 2.6 percent.

But the OECD substantially raised its growth forecast for the U.S. from 1.6 percent to 2.2 percent and for Japan from 1.3 percent to 1.8 percent as their economies fared better than expected in the first half of the year.

This would be the first time since the 1998 Asian financial crisis that Japan's growth rate exceeds Korea's.

For the global economy next year, the OECD lowered its forecast from 2.9 percent to 2.7 percent, citing declining business and consumer confidence and weakening growth in China.