South Korea April industrial output falls again, worse than expected

[SEOUL] South Korea's industrial output fell in April for a second straight month in sequential terms and by more than expected, data showed on Tuesday, raising concerns over the strength in the sector.

Industrial output slipped by a seasonally adjusted 1.3 per cent in April, following a revised 1.3 per cent fall in March, Statistics Korea showed. The revised March reading was slightly improved from a provisional 2.2 per cent decline.

The median forecast in a Reuters survey was for April industrial output to have edged down 0.2 per cent in monthly terms.

On an annual basis, industrial output dropped 2.8 per cent after a revised 0.6 per cent decline in March, compared with a median one per cent fall tipped in the Reuters survey. The revision was better than the 1.5 per cent fall released earlier.

The statistics agency data also showed that service-sector output rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.5 per cent in April on a monthly basis after a revised 0.5 per cent rise in March.

REUTERS