Korea's GDP growth may shed 0.45 percentage points if oil prices stay high: Citibank
Published: 03 Mar. 2026, 16:54
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- YOON SO-YEON
- [email protected]
![Prices of oil are displayed at a gas station in Seoul in this photo from March 2. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/03/9ea31f85-7f9c-4af6-a117-c1c1000248dd.jpg)
Prices of oil are displayed at a gas station in Seoul in this photo from March 2. [YONHAP]
Korea's GDP growth for 2026 could fall by nearly 0.5 percentage points should oil prices remain high in light of alarming geopolitical developments in the Middle East, a report showed Tuesday.
According to the report published by Citibank, analyst Kim Jin-woo projected Korea's GDP growth rate to fall by 0.45 percentage points this year if oil prices stay above an average of $82 per barrel.
The bank's base case for Brent oil prices, the international oil benchmark, was $62 per barrel for the remainder of the year.
With the same assumption, the report expected Korea's consumer price index inflation to rise by 0.6 percentage points and the country's current account balance for the year to fall by 2.25 percentage points.
Such an assessment comes in the wake of a jump in oil prices amid intensifying Middle East geopolitics following U.S. airstrikes against Iran over the weekend.
Brent crude futures closed nearly 7 percent higher at $77.74 per barrel on Monday, the first trading day after the United States and Israel launched large-scale military operations against Iran.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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