Output for April passes expectations

Korea’s industrial output rose more than three times as much as expected in April, helped by increased exports of chips and cars.
Manufacturing production jumped 3.1 percent from March, the largest gain in seven months, the Korean National Statistical Office said yesterday. Output rose 6.7 percent from a year earlier.
A surge in factory production adds to signs that Asia’s third-largest economy may gather pace, stoked by exports to China and Europe and a pickup in consumer spending. Increased global demand is boosting sales for companies including Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., which won $1.27 billion in orders last week to build more ships.
“Economic growth will accelerate in the second half of this year,” said Lee Sang-jae, an economist at Hyundai Securities Co. “Healthy exports and modest growth in consumption helped expand factory production.”
Manufacturing output declined a revised 0.3 percent in March. Corporate investment in factories surged 15.6 percent in April from a year earlier, the biggest gain since September 2006, yesterday’s report showed.
Korea’s economy advanced 0.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, helped by rising exports and consumer spending. That marked a 16th consecutive quarter of expansion, the longest stretch of growth since the 17 quarters ended December 1996.