Doha: South Korea's industrial output remained unchanged in July from the previous month, while retail sales experienced a decline and facility investment saw a significant increase, data revealed on Monday, reflecting mixed momentum in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
According to Qatar News Agency, industrial production held steady in July after previous declines of 0.5% in April and 0.4% in May, followed by a rebound of 2.4% in June. The Ministry of Data and Statistics reported that output in the mining and manufacturing sector, a critical component of the economy, rose slightly by 0.2%, buoyed by a 20.7% surge in electronic component production. Semiconductor output also climbed by 0.5%, whereas automobile production decreased by 4.5%.
The service sector's output contracted by 1.3% in July compared to the previous month, marking its sharpest decline since February 2022, when it dropped by 1.7%. This downturn was mainly due to elevated consumer prices and a heat wave. Meanwhile, output in the information and communications sector increased by 3.5%, but the finance and insurance sector saw a 4.8% decline, attributed to reduced stock market turnover.
Retail sales, an indicator of private consumption, fell by 2.4% in July, driven by dwindling sales of durable goods, such as automobiles, amid high consumer prices. Durable goods sales plummeted by 7.7%, semidurable goods, like clothing, decreased by 1.4%, and nondurable goods, including cosmetics, saw a slight dip of 0.1%.
Conversely, facility investment surged by 7.5% in July compared to the previous month, marking its most robust growth since a 15% rise in February. Investment in transportation equipment soared by 15.4%, led by ships and aircraft, while machinery investment, including semiconductor production equipment, increased by 4.2%.