South Korea's industrial output dipped from a month earlier in January amid a slowdown in manufacturing production, particularly semiconductors, while private consumption and facility investment went up, government data showed Wednesday.
Industrial production dropped 1.3 percent on-month in January, marking the first decline in three months, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
Output from the mining and manufacturing sectors, considered the backbone of the economy, contracted 1.9 percent.
In detail, production of semiconductors and transportation equipment, such as oil tankers and container vessels, decreased 4.4 percent and 17.8 percent on-month, respectively.
Regarding the decrease in chip production despite robust exports in the sector, the ministry said semiconductor production has shown limited growth since peaking in September, noting the increase in exports was mainly attributable to a surge in prices.
Production of high-value chip products, including high bandwidth memory, remains strong, it added.
Retail sales remained unchanged, but private consumption rose 2.3 percent over the cited period, led by increased demand for clothing, communication devices and cosmetics.
Facility investment added 6.8 percent, rising for the first time in four months, thanks to increased investment in machinery and transportation equipment.
Notably, investment in semiconductor manufacturing machines surged 41.1 percent, and those for automobiles jumped 16 percent.
Output in the construction industry dropped 11.3 percent on-month in January, but construction orders soared 35.8 percent, posting the biggest growth in five months, signaling a gradual recovery of the sector, the data showed. (Yonhap)
