South Korea’s industrial output bounced back in November, raising expectations that industrial activities might be picking up, a government report showed Friday.
According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries gained 2.9 percent last month from a year earlier, turning around from the previous month’s 0.8 percent on-year contraction.
The output also grew 2.3 percent on-month, marking the third straight month of expansion. The service sector production expanded 2 percent in November from a year earlier and inched up 0.8 percent from the previous month.
“Despite declines in the mining, electricity and gas industries, an improvement among manufacturers resulted in a 2.3 percent on-month growth in the industrial output,” the statistics agency said.
Corporate investment, however, remained weak last month as businesses seem to be holding back their spending in the face of lingering uncertainty.
The report showed that facility investment fell 9.3 percent on-year in November, marking the fourth straight month of shrinkage since August. From a month earlier, it also edged down 0.3 percent. (Yonhap News)
