S.Korea Q3 GDP 0.1 qq vs 0.5 forecast
Exports fall for first time in nearly 2 years
Central bank flags downgrade in GDP forecast

SEOUL, Oct 24 Reuters South Korea39;s economy barely grew in the third quarter as consumer spending showed signs of recovery but exports declined, raising the chances for more stimulus to support growth.

That prompted the central bank to warn of a potential downgrade to its 2024 growth forecast, while the finance minister called for response measures to confront the slowdown.

Gross domestic product in the JulySeptember quarter expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.1 from a quarter earlier, the Bank of Korea39;s BOK advance estimates showed on Thursday, lower than market expectations.

The weak growth is a setback for Asia39;s fourthlargest economy and could exert pressure on the won , which has weakened nearly 5 against the dollar this month, as the central bank39;s fullyear estimate had already been lowered.

Weakerthanexpected economic growth data could raise the odds for the frontloading of rate cutting cycle, such as a backtoback cut in November, said Kim Jinwook, an economist at Citi. However, we believe, BOK could maintain a 39;waitandsee39; mode for a while considering a recent surge of USDKRW levels.

The thirdquarter growth rate was far weaker than an increase of 0.5 tipped in a Reuters poll of economists and expected by the central bank in its quarterly forecasts provided in August.

Private consumption rose 0.5, after falling 0.2 a…