Industrial output falls for 2nd month in Feb.

South Korea's industrial output fell for the second straight month in February as economic uncertainty has heightened amid the upsurge in COVID-19 cases and surging energy costs driven by the Ukraine crisis, data showed Thursday.

Industrial output declined 0.2 percent in February from the previous month, compared with a 0.3 percent on-month fall in January, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

Compared with a year earlier, industrial output rose 4.3 percent.

Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, grew a mere 0.1 percent on-month in February, compared with a 2.1 percent on-month fall in January.

Facility investment fell 5.7 percent on-month in February, compared with a 2.1 percent on-month gain in January. It marked the sharpest decline since February 2020.

The statistics agency said economic recovery momentum has weakened for the second straight month.

"Output in in-person service sectors faltered and supplies of raw materials were dented amid their surging prices," Eo Woon-sun, a senior Statistics Korea official, told reporters.

Asia's fourth-largest economy has been on a recovery track on the back of robust exports. But economic uncertainty at home and abroad has heightened, led by the fast spread of the omicron variant and the Ukraine conflict.

Last month, output in the manufacturing sector gained 0.5 percent on-month on the back of the robust production of chips.

But service output declined for the third straight month amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. Service output fell 0.3 percent as production in in-person service segments, including accommodations and eateries, lost ground.

Construction output slid 8.5 percent on-month due to soaring prices of raw materials.

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the country's exports and manufacturing sector remain robust, but the recovery of domestic demand was constrained by the spread of the omicron variant.

"But once the current wave is brought under control after its peak, private spending is likely to recover," Hong wrote in a Facebook message.

Health authorities said the omicron-driven wave of the virus appears to have passed its peak last week and the number of daily virus cases is expected to slowly fall.

The Bank of Korea and the International Monetary Fund forecast the South Korean economy to grow 3 percent this year. But global credit appraisers Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings lowered their 2022 growth outlook for South Korea to 2.7 percent. (Yonhap)