By IANS,
Seoul : South Korea’s industrial output decreased 1.7 percent in August from a month earlier due to falling output in the export manufacturing sector affected by the global economic slowdown, a government report showed Friday.
All-industry index, which gauges overall industrial activities, stood at 130.2 in August, down 1.7 percent from a month before, according to Statistics Korea. The figure was down from a 0.2 percent on-month rise for July, reported Xinhua.
From a year earlier, the index retreated 0.2 percent in August, down from a 1.5 percent on-year advance tallied in the previous month.
Output in the mining, manufacturing and electricity and gas sectors declined 0.7 percent in August from the previous month. From a year before, the production was up 0.3 percent last month, up from a 0.2 percent rise in July.
The falling output stemmed mainly from sluggish exports that tumbled 6.2 percent in August from a year earlier.
“The domestic economic slump mainly came from slowing exports caused by weaker global demand. That means the export manufacturing industry was hit hardest,” said Jun Min-gyu, an economist at Korea Investment and Securities in Seoul.
The industrial output was also weighed down by labour strikes at the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, which dragged down auto production by 33 percent in August from a month before.
“The auto industry accounts for around 11 percent in the mining and manufacturing output. Simply speaking, the 33 percent drop in auto output means a 3.6 percent drop in the production,” said Yum Sang-hoon, an analyst at SK Securities in Seoul.