South Korea's factory production unexpectedly jumped in May, led by cars and chips, official data showed on Friday, while retail sales also rose last month in an encouraging sign for a slowly recovering economy.
The industrial output index rose 3.2% in May on a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the Statistics Korea data showed, compared with losses of 0.6% in April and 0.8% tipped in a Reuters survey.By product, output of automobiles jumped 8.7% and semiconductors rose 4.4% over the month, whereas communication devices slumped 16.9%.
Factory output fell 7.3% on an annual basis, which was also milder than a 9.0% decline in April and 8.4% drop expected by economists. The finance ministry said after the data that it showed the economy was on a recovery path after a slight correction the previous month. Downward pressure has eased though risks remain, it added.
Factory output will rebound in the second quarter after four straight quarters of losses, as exports bottom out, the ministry said. The all-industry production index, which includes both the manufacturing and services sectors, rose 1.3% in May on-month, recouping April's 1.3% loss.Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jacqueline Wong
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
South Korea unveils sanctions on Russian national over North's weapons programmesSouth Korea on Wednesday announced new sanctions on two individuals and two entities over their alleged involvement in North Korea's weapons programmes, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
Read more »
XRP Beats Bitcoin (BTC) as Most Popular Asset on South Korea's BithumbBitcoin (BTC) loses to XRP in trading activity on South Korea's Bithumb $XRP $BTC
Read more »
South Korea passes law that revamps how age is countedSome South Koreans were considered 2-year-olds just days after being born.
Read more »
South Korea picks critic of North's rights record as unification ministerSouth Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday picked a conservative scholar and an outspoken critic of North Korea's human rights record as the country's new unification minister handling relations with Pyongyang in a cabinet reshuffle.
Read more »
South Korea shoppers buy up salt before Japan's Fukushima water dumpSouth Korean shoppers are snapping up sea salt and other items as worry grows about their safety with Japan due to dump more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from a wrecked nuclear power plant into the sea.
Read more »