South Korea Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Jong-il said the economy could outpace the IMF's 3.3% growth forecast, barring major external shocks, citing strong third-quarter exports and facility investment. The IMF raised its Korea growth forecast to 3.3%—up 0.7 percentage points from July—on strength in the global semiconductor sector. Lee said if export and capex momentum persists, growth could reach around 3.5% (mid-3% range).

In the first three quarters, per-capita resident consumption expenditure was 22,354 yuan, up 3.6% nominal and 2.7% real YoY. Urban per-capita consumption was 27,312 yuan, up 3.0% nominal and 2.1% real YoY; rural per-capita consumption was 15,218 yuan, up 4.3% nominal and 3.5% real YoY.

China National Bureau of Statistics: September output at industrial enterprises above designated size — of 626 monitored products, 271 rose YoY. Steel 118.17 mln tonnes, down 3.8% YoY; cement 144.01 mln tonnes, down 5.3%; ten non‑ferrous metals 6.93 mln tonnes, up 0.1%; ethylene 3.55 mln tonnes, up 6.4%; automobiles 3.063 mln units, down 5.7%, including new‑energy vehicles 1.87 mln units, up 16.9%; power generation 829.4 bln kWh, down 1.2%; crude oil processed 57.48 mln tonnes, down 8.4%.