Industrial output inches down, but domestic demand grows in June

Korea's industrial output dipped for the second consecutive month in June despite strong semiconductor production, as well as a rebound in retail sales and facility investments.

Containers are stacked at a port in the southeastern city of Busan on July 1. [NEWS1]

Korea's industrial output dipped for the second consecutive month in June despite strong semiconductor production, as well as a rebound in retail sales and facility investments.

The monthly decline is attributed to a slowdown in the public and construction sectors.

Industrial output inched down 0.1 percent from the previous month in June, following a 0.8 percent fall a month earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The decline came as the production from the construction sector shed 0.3 percent and that in the public administration field tumbled 5.1 percent in June.

However, the output in the chip sector jumped 8.1 percent on strong demand for semiconductors, offsetting a marked fall in the production of the pharmaceutical field, resulting in a 0.5 percent rise in the overall production in the manufacturing and mining sector.

The service sector reported a 0.2 percent on-month increase in June led by the finance, insurance and real estate sectors.

In an on-year term, industrial production added 0.5 percent in June, the data showed.

Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, advanced 1 percent on month as demand for automobiles and other durable goods climbed 5.2 percent.

It marked the first on-month growth since March.

Sales of semidurable goods, such as clothes, inched up 0.8 percent, while those of nondurable goods, such as food, lost 0.9 percent, the data showed.

In an on-year term, however, retail sales fell 3.6 percent last month amid lingering concerns about weak domestic demand due to high inflation and high interest rates.

Facility investment climbed 4.3 percent from a month earlier in June, rebounding from a 3.6 percent 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 percent.

Compared with a year earlier, facility investment declined 2.7 percent, the data showed.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]