A local think tank said Sunday the world economy is in a clear upside mode led by recovering advanced economies, giving an opportunity to export-dependent South Korea.
The Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) in Seoul revised up its 2017 growth forecast for the world economy to 3.5 percent from 3.4 percent.
(Yonhap)
The HRI said in a report the United States has entered the "Goldilocks economy" of sustained growth and low inflation as the world's largest economy pulls off moderate growth on the back of a low jobless rate and rising private consumption and corporate investment.
It said China is also gaining recovering momentum stemming from a solid improvement in domestic demand and investment.
The Eurozone economy is showing some signs of recovery in consumption and inflation thanks to yearslong quantitative easing, while Japan has sustained steady growth on an uptick in employment and exports.
An economic improvement in emerging countries also lends support to the global upside trend, with India, Russia and Brazil expected to post positive growth on rising oil prices.
The HRI noted that South Korea, which depends on trade for more than 75 percent of its gross domestic product, may benefit from the global optimism.
Asia's fourth-largest economy saw its exports rise 13.7 percent in March for five months in a row since November, raising hopes that brisk exports help the entire economy bottom out.
It suffered from a 5.9 percent drop in exports in 2016 and an 8 percent fall in 2015 due to contracted world demand amid low oil prices. (Yonhap)