South Korea March factory output jumps by most in nearly three years

SOUTH Korea’s factory output jumped in March by the fastest rate in nearly three years and beat economists’ expectations, official data showed on Friday (Apr 28).

The country’s industrial output grew 5.1 per cent in March from a month before, on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 2.7 per cent fall in February. It was the fastest monthly rise since June 2020.

It beat the median forecast of 0.5 per cent growth tipped in a Reuters survey and even topped the economists’ highest estimate, which was 4.5 per cent.

Semiconductor and automobile production jumped by 35.1 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively, which together hold a 30 per cent weighting in the overall industrial output index.

Output shrank 7.6 per cent from the same month a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea, which was also milder than 8.0 per cent in the previous month and 10.1 per cent expected by economists.

The data came after first-quarter gross domestic product figures released earlier this week, which showed the South Korean economy barely averted a recession by posting slim growth. REUTERS