According to a report released by Citibank on Tuesday, South Korea's GDP growth rate for 2026 could decline by nearly 0.5 percentage points if oil prices remain elevated due to concerning geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Citibank analyst Kim Jin-woo projected that if oil prices persist above $82 per barrel, the country's GDP growth for this year would be reduced by 0.45 percentage points.
The bank's baseline forecast for Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, is $62 per barrel for the remainder of the year.
Under the same assumptions, the report anticipates South Korea's consumer price index (CPI) will rise by 0.6 percentage points this year, while the current account balance is expected to decrease by 2.25 percentage points.
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