S. Korea’s Nov. industrial output rebounds on improving chip production

South Korea’s industrial production rebounded in a month in November, propelled by the output increase in the semiconductor sector.

According to data released by Statistics Korea on Thursday, the seasonally adjusted mining and manufacturing output last month gained by 0.5 percent compared to the previous month, reaching 111.6 and shifting from the downward trend in October in just one month. The index uses the 2020 figure as 100.

The driving force behind the rebound was the manufacturing sector, which increased by 3.3 percent compared to the previous month, marking the largest increase since August when the increase was 5.3 percent.

Notably, memory chip production contributed to this recovery, leading to a 12.8 percent increase in semiconductor production, recovering to a double-digit growth trend after a 12.6 percent fall in October.

With the increased production of wafer processing equipment and chip assembly equipment, machinery equipment output also saw an 8.0 percent increase.

The inventory-to-shipment ratio in manufacturing fell by 8.9 percentage points from the previous month to 114.3 percent.

Service sector output, an indicator of domestic demand, fell 0.1 percent from a month ago. Wholesale and retail sector output rose by 1.0 percent, while the transportation and logistics sector fell by 1.4 percent.

The finance and insurance sector output fell by 0.7 percent, marking a negative trend for three months in a row, driven by a decline in interest income following the narrowing interest gap between lending and saving rates, as explained by Statistics Korea.

Retail sales, a barometer for private spending, climbed by 1.0 percent in November compared to a month ago, marking the largest increase in nine months since a 5.2 percent increase in February.

Sales of durable goods such as vehicles rose by 2.6 percent driven by year-end discount events, but sales of semi-durable goods like shoes and bags fell by 0.4 percent.

Capital investment decreased by 2.6 percent, as both machinery and transportation equipment sectors fell by 5.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Production in the construction sector also fell 4.1 percent, with declines in both building and civil engineering construction.

The cyclical component of the composite coincident index, which measures present economic situations, fell by 0.1 point to 98.9. The cyclical component of the composite leading index, which predicts the turning point in the business cycle, rose by 0.2 points to 99.9.