Industrial production in South Korea contracts by 1.8% in September

Industrial production in South Korea fell by a seasonally adjusted 1.8% in September, Statistics Korea said on Monday.

That was well below expectations for a 0.3% decline after August’s upward-revised contraction of 1.4% (initially -1.8%).

On a yearly basis, industrial production rose 0.8% – again missing estimates of a 0.9% increase and down from the month’s upward-revised 1.5% increase. previous (originally 1.0%).

Production of the overall industry index in September fell 0.6% month on month and rose 3.1% year on year.

The manufacturing production index in September fell 1.8% month on month but rose 0.8% year on year. The manufacturing shipments index fell by 0.3% over one month but rose by 1.4% over one year. The index of manufacturing inventories rose by 0.2% over one month and 9.5% over one year.

The production capacity index rose 0.2% over the month but fell 0.7% over the year. The capacity utilization rate index fell by 1.0% over one month but gained 0.5% over one year.

The average manufacturing capacity utilization rate in September was 74.5%, down 0.8 percentage points from the previous month. The services index fell by 0.3% over one month but rose by 5.6% over one year. The retail sales index lost 1.8% over one month and 0.7% over one year.

The equipment investment index lost 2.4% over one month but jumped 12.5% ​​over one year. The household machinery shipments index rose 5.7% year-on-year. The value of domestic machinery orders received rose 12.9% year-on-year.

The value of construction completed at constant prices showed no change from the previous month, but rose 3.9% from the same period a year earlier. The value of construction orders received at current prices jumped 35.9% per year.

The composite index coincident in September rose 0.2% on the month. The cyclical component of the coincident composite index, which reflects current economic situations, added 0.1 point compared to the previous month.

The leading composite index gained 0.2% over the month. The cyclical component of the leading composite index, which predicts the turning point Company cycle, eased by 0.1 point compared to the previous month.

Also on Monday, Statistics Korea said the value of retail sales in South Korea fell 0.7% year-on-year in September.

That missed expectations of a 0.5% increase after the upwardly revised gain of 2.4% the previous month.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales fell 1.8% – also missing expectations of a flat reading after August’s revised 4.4% upward jump (originally 1 .8%).

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