S Korean growth slows to 0.2 percent

South Korea's economy grew 0.2 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months -- the slowest pace in nearly three years as the eurozone crisis impacted investment activity. "Private consumption grew, while exports rebounded from declines in the previous quarter. But facilities investment continued to drop, weighing on the economic activity," the central bank said in a statement. The July-September rise was lower than the 0.3 expansion recorded in the second quarter and the slowest since the fourth quarter of 2009, which saw a similar 0.2 percent increase. On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product in the three months to September 30 was up 1.6 percent, compared to a 2.3 percent on-year gain in the second quarter. South Korea, with an export-led economy, tends to mirror the fortunes of the region and its GDP numbers are often a harbinger of broader trends in Asia. Analysts say Asia's fourth largest economy is expected to rebound in the current quarter, helped by government stimulus and signs of a nascent economic recovery in China, South Korea's largest export destination. Earlier this month, the Bank of Korea cut its growth forecasts for this year and next to 2.4 percent and 3.2 percent respectively, from its July projections of 3.0 percent and 3.8 percent. The central bank is widely expected to keep monetary policy steady for the rest of the year after two rate cuts this year -- in July and in October -- which brought the base rate to 2.75 percent. -- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report --