The International Monetary Fund(IMF) says that South Korea’s growth outlook for this year was lowered due to the deteriorating semiconductor industry and slowing domestic consumption.

Krishna Srinivasan, director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the IMF, made the remarks on Thursday at a region-based press conference at the World Bank-IMF Spring Meeting in Washington.

Srinivasan said that various factors were reflected in the reduction of South Korea’s growth forecast, adding that the country’s prevalence in the chip industry means that both exports and investments are affected by the semiconductor cycle.

The IMF official also pointed to slowing consumption and weakening domestic demand on the back of monetary tightening and adjustments in the housing market after COVID-19.

Earlier this week, the IMF released its latest World Economic Outlook and lowered its 2023 growth outlook for South Korea to one-point-five percent, slashing the growth forecast for the fourth consecutive time.

The IMF outlook was lowered from two-point-nine percent to two-point-one percent in July of last year, followed by a cut to two percent in October last year and another reduction to one-point-seven percent in January.