Industrial output in South Korea eased a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on month in March, Statistics Korea said on Thursday.
That was in line with expectations for following the downwardly revised 2.2 percent decline in February (originally 2.6 percent).
On a yearly basis, industrial production added 1.8 percent – beating forecasts for a decline of 1.7 percent following the upwardly revised 0.6 percent gain in the previous month.
The index of all industry production was down 0.6 percent on month and up 1.8 percent on year.
The manufacturing production index in February fell 0.6 percent on month and 0.4 percent on year.
The Producer’s Shipment Index eased 0.1 percent on month and 0.5 percent on year. The Producer’s Inventory Index climbed 0.8 on month and 2.7 percent on year. The Production Capacity Index in added 0.4 percent on month and 1.5 percent from on year.
The Index of Capacity Utilization Rate fell 2.0 percent on month and 3.0 percent on year. The Manufacturing Average Capacity Utilization Rate was 73.6 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from the previous month. The Index of Services fell 0.4 percent on month and gained 3.1 percent on year.
The Retail Sales Index shed 0.6 percent on month and climbed 2.8 percent on year. The Equipment Investment Index in March fell 3.9 percent on month but gained 6.6 percent on year.
The Domestic Machinery Shipment Index in March gained 5.0 percent from on year. The value of domestic machinery orders received tumbled 20.2 percent on year.
The value of construction completed at constant prices lost 6.8 percent on month and 1.4 percent on year. The value of construction orders received at current prices surged 14.7 percent from on year.
The Composite Coincident Index in March added 0.2 percents on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Coincident Index, which reflects current economic situations, fell 0.2 points from the previous month.
The Composite Leading Index advanced 1.2 percent on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Leading Index, which predicts the turning point in business cycle, added 0.7 points on month.
Also on Thursday, the bureau said that retail sales in South Korea were down a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on month in March.
That was roughly in line with forecasts following the downwardly revised 2.6 percent increase in February (originally 2.8 percent).
On a yearly basis, retail sales gained 2.8 percent – also matching expectations following the downwardly revised 5.4 percent increase in the previous month (originally 5.5 percent).
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com