South Korea raises forecast to highest in four years

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's central bank raised its 2010 growth forecast for the country's economy on Monday to 5.2 percent - the highest in four years - on increased exports amid a rebound in global trade and a recovery in domestic demand.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) had said in December that Asia's fourth-largest economy was likely to expand 4.6 percent this year, but said a revised outlook was warranted "with exports rising and domestic demand, including consumption and facilities investment, recovering".

South Korea's economy recorded four straight quarters of growth in 2009 after contracting in late 2008 amid the global financial and economic downturn. Demand for the country's products including automobiles, flat screen TVs and mobile phones wilted amid the slump.