South Korea Industrial Production Climbs 0.3% In November

Industrial output in South Korea rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on month in November, Statistics Korea said on Wednesday - shy of expectations for an increase of 0.8 percent following the 1.2 percent contraction in October.

On a yearly basis, industrial production gained 0.5 percent - again missing forecasts for an increase of 1.0 percent after sinking 2.2 percent in the previous month.

The index of all industry production was up 0.7 percent on month and down 0.6 percent on year after dropping 0.1 percent on month and 2.6 percent on year in October.

The Manufacturing Production Index in November increased 0.3 percent on month and 0.7 percent on year. The Manufacturing Shipment Index added 0.3 percent on month and 1.2 percent on year. The Manufacturing Inventory Index fell 1.2 percent on month and 1.3 percent on year.

The Production Capacity Index in November eased 0.1 percent both on month and on year. The Index of Capacity Utilization Rate added 0.1 percent on month but fell 0.5 percent on year.

The Manufacturing Average Capacity Utilization Rate in November marked 73.8 percent, which showed no change from the previous month. The Index of Services in November gained 0.7 percent on month but shed 1.4 percent on year.

The Retail Sales Index in November shed 0.9 percent on month and 1.5 percent on year. The Equipment Investment Index jumped 3.6 percent on month and 5.7 percent on year.

The Domestic Machinery Shipment Index spiked 9.7 percent on year. The value of Domestic Machinery Orders Received in November sank 2.1 percent on year. The value of Construction Completed at constant prices gained 2.1 percent on month but lost 0.8 percent on year. The value of Construction Orders Received at current prices surged an annual 30.0 percent.

The Composite Coincident Index in November rose 0.7 percent on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Coincident Index, which reflects current economic situations, added 0.5 points on month. The Composite Leading Index gained 0.9 percent on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Leading Index, which predicts the turning point in business cycle, rose 0.7 points on month.

Also on Wednesday:
• Statistics Korea said that the value of retail sales in South Korea was down a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on month in November, following the 0.9 percent contraction in the previous month. On a yearly basis, retail sales skidded 1.5 percent after dropping 0.2 percent a month earlier.
• The Bank of Korea said that business confidence eased in December with an unadjusted Business Survey Index score of 82.0 - down from 85.0 in November. Seasonally adjusted, the index score was 83.0. The outlook fell from 81.0 to 77.0.

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