South Korea's industrial output increased at a faster-than-expected clip in September, boosted by a gain in auto industry production and brisk exports, a government report showed Monday.
Industrial production in Asia's fourth-largest economy increased 16.3 percent year-on-year in September after gaining 10.9 percent in the previous month, according to the report by the National Statistical Office (NSO). From the previous month, it was up 2.9 percent, lower than a 3.7-percent monthly gain in August, the report said.
The annual gain in September's industrial output was higher than the median 12.9 percent forecast in a Yonhap Infomax poll of economists from 13 financial institutions operating in the country.
Yonhap Infomax is the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.
Industrial output gained 10.6 percent in the July-September period from a year earlier, compared with a 10.9-percent rise the previous quarter.
From the previous quarter, the figure was up 1 percent, a turnaround from a 0.4-percent decline the previous quarter, according to the report.
"Given fewer workdays in September, industrial output data indicate that the economic recovery is being maintained," said Choe In-keun, director general of the NSO's economic statistics division.
Lee Dong-su, an economist at Tong Yang Investment Banking Corp., said the September data is seen as positive, and "a recovery pace is likely to continue without any drastic downturn in the economy."
Economists said that October figures may be weak, however, due to the Chuseok fall harvest holiday period and concerns about North Korea's nuclear test on Oct. 9.
Auto production surged 53.2 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from 7.1 percent the previous month. The production of machinery-related goods gained 5 percent.
Shipments rose 15.1 percent annually in September, accelerating from an 8.9 percent climb in August, while inventories increased 7 percent year-on-year last month, compared with a 7.4 percent gain the previous month.
Factories were operating at an average capacity of 84.1 percent in September, compared with 80.7 percent in August.
Retail sales gained 4.2 percent in September from a year earlier, but were down 1 percent from the previous month, the NSO report showed.
Corporate facility investments increased 14.7 percent annually in September, following an 11 percent annual gain in the previous month, it said.
Exports, which make up about 40 percent of the economy, surged 21.3 percent to a record of US$29.93 billion in September, the Commerce Ministry said earlier.
The South Korean economy has been expected to grow 5 percent this year on the back of a recovery in private spending and strong exports, but its growth pace is likely to slow to the mid-4-percent range next year on a slowdown in the global economy.
The Bank of Korea, the country's central bank, kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.5 percent for October, indicating that slowing economic growth may be a greater concern than inflation.
Seoul, Oct. 30 (Yonhap News)
S. Korean industrial output growth accelerates in September |
