South Korean exports grew more than expected in December but protracted weakness in Europe and China is clouding the prospects for 2015, keeping the door open for further policy easing by the central bank. Shipments in December grew 3.7 percent over a year earlier, the trade ministry said on Thursday, beating even the rosiest forecast from a Reuters survey of 13 analysts and marking the strongest growth since September. South Korea is the world's seventh-largest exporter and the first major exporting economy in the world to report trade figures every month, thus providing a quick guide on the latest state of global trade and the economy. But analysts warned sluggish demand in some of its major markets could make exports erratic again in the new year, while the trade ministry cautioned exports in 2015 would post growth of only 3.7 percent after a 2.4 percent gain in 2014. "There still are negative factors such as effects from possible interest-rate increases in the United States, the yen's weakness, slowing growth in the oil-producing economies and an economic crisis in Russia," the ministry said in the statement. The median forecast from the Reuters survey was for December exports to grow 0.8 percent, with projections ranging from a fall of 1.0 percent to an increase of 2.6 percent. Despite concerns about uneven global demand and the competitive impact of a sharply weaker Japanese yen, South Korea's exports in December grew to each of its top three markets of China, the United States and the European Union. The three regions together buy nearly half of its goods overseas. Exports for the whole of 2014 set a record high of $573.1 billion, underlining strengthening competitiveness for some of its companies, led by smartphone maker Samsung Electronics and automaker Hyundai Motor. Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan welcomed the resilient export performance for December, but promised to "do the utmost" to re-energise the economy in the new year. The finance ministry estimates South Korea's economy to expand by 3.4 percent in 2014 and expects growth to quicken to 3.8 percent in 2015, but both the ministry and the central bank have promised to maintain a pro-growth policy stance this year. The government implemented a series of stimulus measures over the past several months in the face of a sluggish economic recovery, while the Bank of Korea cut interest rates in August and October. Analysts expect a further rate cut as soon as the first quarter of this year. The central bank next reviews its policy on Jan. 15. (Reuters)