Korea’s industrial output up for 3rd month in January

[Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea’s industrial production continued its upward trend for a third month in January 2024.

According to data released by Statistics Korea on Monday, the seasonally adjusted industrial output stood at 113.8 in January, up 0.4 percent from a month earlier.

The index increased for a third month after gaining 0.3 percent in November and 0.4 percent in December.

By industry, construction production rose 12.4 percent, rebounding for the first time in four months since a 0.4 percent increase in September 2023.

This growth is the largest in 12 years, driven by strong performance in apartment and factory construction.

On the other hand, mining and manufacturing output fell by 1.3 percent, with semiconductor production in particular seeing an 8.6 percent decline.

It was the first decline in three months since a 10.5 percent decrease in October 2023.

Communication and broadcasting equipment output surged by 46.8 percent in January thanks to the release of the Galaxy S24.

Service output decreased in sectors such as wholesale and retail trade (-1.0 percent), but increased in information and communication (4.9 percent) and real estate (2.6 percent), resulting in an overall increase of 0.1 percent.

Retail sales, indicating trends in goods consumption, rose 0.8 percent in January, rising for a second month.

Retail sales for December were revised to 0.6 percent increase from a 0.8 percent decrease due to weight adjustments.

Sales of durable goods such as automobiles fell 1 percent in January while those of semi-durable goods such as clothing declined 1.4%. Sales of non-durable goods such as cosmetics increased 2.3 percent.

The cyclical component of the composite coincident index, a measure of current economic conditions, rose 0.1 point to 99.7, turning positive for the first time in three months.

The cyclical component of composite leading index, which predicts future economic conditions, remained unchanged from the previous month at 100.3.