South Korea Sept factory output edges up but misses forecasts

[SEOUL] South Korea's industrial output rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1 per cent in September from the previous month, data showed on Thursday, missing market expectations and falling far short of recovering a big drop in August.

The August reading for the industrial output index was revised down to a fall of 3.9 per cent from a provisional 3.8 per cent loss reported earlier, the Statistics Korea data showed.

The median forecast from a Reuters survey of 14 analysts was for the output index to gain 1.9 per cent in September.

On an annual basis, industrial output rose 1.9 per cent in September after a revised 2.8 per cent fall in August, the data showed, compared with a median 2.8 per cent rise tipped in the Reuters survey.

Statistics Korea's data also showed that service-sector output rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1 per cent in September on a monthly basis following a revised 0.3 per cent gain in August.

REUTERS