South Korea Oct factory output falls 1.6%, worse than expected

[SEOUL] South Korea's industrial output fell 1.6 per cent in October from the previous month while the September reading was revised down, data showed on Friday, adding to doubts over the pace of recovery in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The October reading far missed the median forecast for a 0.8 per cent gain tipped in a Reuters survey and follows no growth in the industrial output index in September, downgraded from a provisional 0.1 per cent rise reported earlier.

On an annual basis, industrial output fell 3.2 per cent in October after a revised 1.9 per cent rise in September, the Statistics Korea data showed, also far worse than a median 0.6 per cent decline tipped in the Reuters survey.

The data also showed the service-sector output index increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.8 per cent in October on a monthly basis after a revised 0.2 gain in September.

REUTERS