South Korea’s automobile and oil refining industries are expected to enjoy a boom in exports in the fourth quarter of this year, underpinned by growing overseas demand, a report said Monday.

The country’s construction and steel industries, however, have a grimmer fourth-quarter outlook due to a slump in the domestic property market and a fall in overseas orders, according to the report by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Exports of South Korean cars are forecast to continue to grow in the last three months of the year on the back of better brand awareness and diversified export markets despite signs of a global economic slowdown.

The refining industry will be in a good condition fueled by seasonal winter demand and troubled Japanese refineries hit by the March 11 earthquake, but local builders are unlikely to see an improvement in the upcoming quarter as the domestic housing market shows no signs of recovery, the report said.

The steel industry’s growth is also expected to falter in the fourth quarter because of contracted demand from builders and intensified competition in the global market.

Shipbuilders are predicted to face a slowdown in European demand in the aftermath of the ongoing debt crisis in the region, while exports of machinery are also forecast to experience a fall in facility investments and overseas demand, according to the report. (Yonhap News)