ARIRANG NEWS

Описание: ARIRANG NEWS 16:00
Good to have you with us and welcome to Arirang News. Live from our studio in Seoul, I′m Laah Hyun-kyung.
Title: Oil prices drop to below $48/barrel
We begin with the falling global crude prices.
U.S. benchmark oil slipped to below the 50 dollar per barrel mark on Tuesday… setting another fresh low not seen in more than five years.
That brought down stocks on Wall Street as well.
For this story,... here′s Kim Min-ji .
Another oil shock.
Global crude prices plummeted to fresh lows on Tuesday over concerns of oversupply and sluggish global growth.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 4-point-2 percent to about 48 dollars a barrel,... after dipping below the symbolic threshold of 50 dollars the previous day.
Benchmark Brent crude also shed nearly four percent to just over 51 dollars per barrel.
Both are their lowest levels since the spring of 2009.
Crude prices have slumped almost 10 percent this week alone.
This comes after Saudi Arabia, the biggest OPEC producer, cut its selling prices in Europe,... a move that demonstrates a desire to protect its market share.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia′s King Abdullah said the country will maintain a firm will to deal with the challenges posed by falling crude prices,... giving no indication that supplies will be cut.
The dip in oil prices translated into losses on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 130 points, or nearly one percent,... while the S&P 500 also lost about one percent,... on the back of a sell-off in energy stocks.
It was more or less the same in Europe,... with markets falling about one percent each.
Crude prices have been on a downward spiral since June, and have lost more than half their value in that time.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.
Title: Korean finance minister dismisses concerns of deflation amid falling oil prices
The falling oil prices had some analysts in Seoul concerned that it would usher the economy toward a deflationary path... but Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan is firm that that will not happen.
Instead he says... the drop could actually help the Korean economy.
For this report,... here′s Kim Ji-yeon .
Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan has dismissed concerns that falling oil prices could lead to deflation.
In fact, he says the declines could actually help boost domestic demand... as the prices of imports fall.
At an economic ministerial meeting on Wednesday, Choi said that "the decline in oil prices is fundamentally different from deflation, which occurs due to a shortage of demand rather than an oversupply."
He also cited projections from five state-run institutes which forecast that Korea would save 30 billion dollars in oil import expenses... if crude prices maintain an average of 63 dollars per barrel.
Choi′s remarks came amid concerns that deflation is spreading in the Korean economy,... currently struggling from sluggish domestic consumption and low inflation rate increases.
Some local institut