Industrial output falls at steepest pace in more than a year

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Industrial output falls at steepest pace in more than a year

Customers shop at a discount store in Seoul on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Customers shop at a discount store in Seoul on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

 
Korea’s industrial output contracted at the steepest pace in more than a year in April.  
 
Industrial production decelerated 1.4 percent on month, the fastest fall since 1.5 percent fall in February last year, according to Statistics Korea data Wednesday.
 
The contraction was largely attributed to a decline in mining and manufacturing production output, which slid 1.2 percent. Chip production merely inched up 0.5 percent. From a year earlier, production of semiconductors dropped 20.2 percent. 
 
Medical supplies plunged 8.0 percent while machine equipment fell 6.9 percent. Production of telecommunication and broadcasting equipment jumped 13.4 percent.  
 
Inventory levels reached a fresh high at 130.4 percent, up from 117.2 percent a month earlier.
 
Output in the service industry inched down 0.3 percent on-month despite a 2.0 percent jump in the finance sector. Sluggish output in wholesale, retail and real estate contributed to the fall. The decline in wholesale and retail was most prominent at supermarkets, which fell 3.4 percent.  
 
Plant and equipment investment grew 0.9 percent in the same period on an increase in the import volume of transportation equipment, including aircraft.  
 
“Industrial output went through a moderate adjustment in April following a recovery in the first quarter,” said the Ministry of Economy and Finance in a report. It added the recovery trend is continuing, except for in certain sectors, like chips.  
 
“The government aims to strengthen momentum for economic recovery by prioritizing the revitalization of economic activities, including exports, investment and domestic demand along with a strict risk management of weaknesses,” the ministry added.  
 
Industrial output has grown from 0.0 percent in January to 1.0 percent in February and 1.2 percent in March.  
 
Household debt and a reduction in construction orders caused by a production cut in chips and uncertainties in the construction industry are some of the risks harming industrial output.  
 
Korea’s economy narrowly averted a recession by posting a slim 0.3 percent growth in the first quarter. The growth contracted 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.  
 

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]
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