South Korea Industrial Production Climbs 3.6% In December

(RTTNews) - Industrial output in South Korea jumped a seasonally adjusted 4.6 percent on month in December, Statistics Korea said on Monday.

That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent following the upwardly revised 0.3 percent contraction in November (originally -0.7 percent).

On an annualized basis, industrial output climbed 5.3 percent - again topping expectations for 0.7 percent and up from 0.1 percent in the previous month.

The Index of All Industry production in December increased 2.3 percent on month and 1.4 percent on year.

The Manufacturing Production Index rose 4.4 percent on month and 5.5 percent on year. The Manufacturing Shipment Index jumped 8.2 percent on month and 2.0 percent on year. The Manufacturing Inventory Index fell 3.6 percent on month and 2.0 percent on year.

The Production Capacity Index added 1.1 percent on month and 0.7 percent on year. The Index of Capacity Utilization Rate gained 2.5 percent on month and 1.7 percent on year. The Manufacturing Average Capacity Utilization Rate was 73.5 percent, up 1.9 percentage points from the previous month.

The Index of Services rose 1.7 percent on month and 1.2 percent on year after dipping 0.2 percent on month and rising 0.9 percent on year in November.

Retail sales slipped 0.6 percent on month following the downwardly revised flat reading in November (originally 0.4 percent); sales slumped 3.3 percent on year after dropping 2.2 percent a month earlier.

The Equipment Investment Index rose 9.9 percent on month and 13.1 percent on year. The Domestic Machinery Shipment Index sank 5.3 percent on year. The value of Domestic Machinery Orders Received lost 5.4 percent on year.

In December, the value of Construction Completed at constant prices was up 1.3 percent on month but down 8.3 percent on year. The value of Construction Orders Received at current prices tumbled an annual 26.0 percent.

The Composite Coincident Index rose 0.2 percent on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Coincident Index, which reflects current economic situations, showed no change from the previous month.

The Composite Leading Index showed no change from November. The Cyclical Component of Composite Leading Index, which predicts the turning point in business cycle, dipped 0.2 points from the previous month.