This file photo, provided by the industry ministry, shows Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun (C) inspecting a semiconductor production line during a visit to a SK hynix plant in Icheon, 56 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Jan. 11, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 31 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s industrial output rebounded in April following a sharp fall a month earlier, but retail sales and investment dropped for the second consecutive month, data showed Friday.
Industrial output rose 1.1 percent on-month in April, compared with a 2.1 percent fall a month earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
Compared with a year earlier, industrial output advanced 3.1 percent in April.
In March, industrial production fell for the first time since October, and the 2.1 percent fall was the largest decline since February 2020 due mainly to falling production of semiconductors, cars and other items.
The production growth in April came as the manufacturing output advanced 2.8 percent.
The auto output, in particular, jumped 8.1 percent to lead the overall increase. It was the largest growth since January 2023, when the figure came to 8.7 percent.
But chip production shed 4.4 percent on-month, extending the losing streak to a second month, though the semiconductor output climbed 22.3 percent compared with a year earlier.
“The on-month fall in the semiconductor production was due to a high base effect. The industry is showing an uptrend, and it remains to be seen if the April data will indicate any adjustment,” an agency official said.
Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, however, shed 1.2 percent on-month due mainly to the falling sales of cars and other durable goods.
On an on-year basis, retail sales slid 2.6 percent.
“Consumption appears to have lagged behind, while production is going well. The pace of an economic recovery differs according to sectors,” the official noted.
Facility investment inched down 0.2 percent in April from the previous month, the second consecutive fall, as rising investment in the transportation equipment sector offset the falling investment in machinery.
Construction investment, however, jumped 5 percent on-month, the data showed.
South Korea has experienced a gradual economic recovery since around the second half of 2023, driven by rising exports, but private consumption has remained weak amid still-high inflation and interest rates.
(Yonhap)
