S. Korea's manufacturing domestic supply gains 1.1 percent in Q3

South Korea's total domestic supply of manufacturing goods both locally produced and imported gained slightly in the third quarter on a gain in imported items, government data showed Thursday.

The manufacturing domestic supply index gained 1.1 percent to stand at 109.2 from a year earlier during the July-September period, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. That of South Korean-made goods fell 0.1 percent on-year, while imported products saw their index rise 3.7 percent over the three-month period.

The index was newly developed by Statistics Korea to measure the total domestic supply of locally produced goods and imported products, with the number tallied in 2010 set at 100.

The office said an increase in the index represents a rise in purchasing power of South Korean consumers and producers, and an expansion of the domestic market.

The index for consumer goods rose 1.5 percent over the same period and the figure for intermediate goods added 1.4 percent, with that of capital goods falling 0.6 percent on-year.

The data also showed that out of the total domestic supply, foreign-made items, including consumer goods, accounted for 31.7 percent in the third quarter, up 0.8 percentage point from a year earlier.

Foreign products took up 65.5 percent in the South Korean transportation equipment market during the three-month period, up

11.8 percentage points from a year earlier, while the market share of imported medicine rose 5.9 percentage points on-year to 38.2 percent. (Yonhap)