Industrial output in S. Korea fell in September over weak chip production

Seoul, Oct 31
South Korea's industrial output fell from a month earlier in September on dwindling production in the semiconductor and other manufacturing sectors, data showed on Thursday.

According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, retail sales, a gauge of private spending, also went down amid signs of weaker economic growth, while facility investment rebounded on-month, Yonhap news agency said.

Industrial production fell 0.3 per cent on-month, following a 1.3 per cent increase in August.

In on-year terms, factory output went down 1.1 per cent in September.

The decline came as production in the overall mining and manufacturing sector lost 0.2 per cent, as chip production dropped 2.6 per cent.

The output in the service sector slid 0.7 per cent, ending a three-month winning run.

Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, shed 0.4 per cent from a month before in September, following 1.7 per cent growth the previous month.

Sales of durable goods, such as vehicles, rose 6.3 per cent, but those of foodstuffs and other non-durable goods slid 2.5 per cent. Sales of semidurables, such as shoes and bags, also decreased 3.2 per cent.

Sales in duty-free shops dropped 9.2 per cent due mainly to the decline in the number of Chinese travellers here, according to the agency.

On an on-year basis, retail sales sank 2.2 per cent, the seventh straight monthly fall.

Facility investment surged 8.4 per cent on-month, rebounding from August's 5.1 per cent decline.

But construction investment inched down 0.1 per cent in September, the fifth consecutive fall.

"We've seen growing downside risks in the economy," a finance ministry official said.

"The government will extend active support for exporters and the manufacturing sector and come up with measures to prop up domestic demand and back weak industries, such as the construction sector," the official added.

Bank of Korea (BOK) data showed that gross domestic product expanded 0.1 per cent on-quarter in the July-September period, lower than market expectations, and the government and the BOK are widely expected to revise down their growth projection for this year.