South Korea’s economy grew at the fastest pace in a year-and-a-half in the third quarter, supported by strong exports and firm private consumption, preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed Tuesday. Real gross domestic product expanded 1.2% on-quarter and 1.7% on-year from July to September, beating the central bank’s projection of 1.1%. Private consumption rose 1.3%, government spending 1.2% and exports 1.5%, offsetting a 0.1% decline in construction investment. Facilities investment jumped 2.4%, driven by semiconductor equipment and machinery.

In a separate release, the BOK said the Composite Consumer Sentiment Index fellto 109.8 in October, down 0.3