Industrial output up 0.5% in Jan.; retail sales down for 3rd month

• Published date: 02 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Korea's industrial output edged up 0.5 percent on-month in January, while retail sales extended losses to a third month, data showed Thursday.

The latest rise in the industrial production came after the figure remained unchanged the previous month, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

The industrial output earlier shed 1.2 percent and 0.4 percent on-month in October and November, respectively.

The rebound came as the combined output in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries advanced 2.9 percent on-month in January. The output from the communication device sector especially doubled over the period.

The automobile industry also saw its output increase 9.6 percent, it added.

The growth, however, was limited as production from the chip industry, the backbone of Asia's No. 4 economy, shed 5.7 percent over the period amid falling global demand.

The service output rose 0.1 percent on-month in January, led by the retail and wholesale industries, which moved up 3.7 percent. The output from the finance and insurance businesses, on the other hand, slipped 5 percent.

Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, decreased 2.1 percent due to the weaker demand for semidurable goods and foodstuffs.

The statistics agency added sales of winter clothes decreased on-month in January as a result of warmer-than-usual weather.

"In 2021, retail sales, led by...