Seoul, South Korea’s industrial output fell for the second consecutive month in June, but retail sales and facility investment rebounded.
Industrial output inched down 0.1% on-month in June, following a 0.8% fall a month earlier.
The decline came as production from the construction sector shed 0.3% and that in the public administration field tumbled 5.1% in June.
But the output in the chip sector jumped 8.1% on strong demand for semiconductors, offsetting a marked fall in the production of the pharmaceutical field, resulting in a 0.5% rise in the overall production in the manufacturing and mining sector, according to Yonhap.
The service sector reported a 0.2% on-month increase in June, led by the finance, insurance and real estate sectors.
In an on-year term, industrial production added 0.5% in June.
Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, advanced 1% on-month as demand for automobiles and other durable goods climbed 5.2%.
It marked the first on-month growth since March.
Sales of semidurable goods,
such as clothes, inched up 0.8%, while those of nondurable goods, such as food, lost 0.9%.
In an on-year term, retail sales fell 3.6% last month amid lingering concerns about weak domestic demand due to high inflation and high interest rates.
Facility investment climbed 4.3% from a month earlier in June, rebounding from a 3.6% decline the previous month.
The increase was attributable to rising investment in the machinery sector, though that in the car and other transportation equipment sector went down 2.8%.
Compared with a year earlier, facility investment declined 2.7%.
Source: Bahrain News Agency
