Economic Barometers Looking Good for Second Consecutive Month

Economic barometers including production, shipping, and inventory levels recorded their second month in a row of improvement since September. Economists expect that the economy is getting closer to its turn around point.
On November 29, the National Statistical Office (NSO) released a report on industrial movement in October, which stated that the total sum of production dropped by 8.0% compared to the same period of last year. The operating rate for the manufacturing industry in October recorded 67.6%. Stock and inventory levels plunged by 13.7% due to the rapid increase of export shipping (26.6%). These numbers suggest that production is increasing. As a result, the market leading index, which predicts market patterns for the next six to seven months, showed an increasing rate (0.7%) for the first time in October.
However, consumption and investment are still, for the most part, frozen and not showing any signs of improving. Consumption goods for domestic use decreased by 25.1% and facility investment also dropped by 34.7%.