Seoul: South Korea's industrial output, retail sales, and facility investment all rose from a month earlier in July, data showed Friday. Industrial production edged up 0.3 percent last month, marking the second consecutive month of increase, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
According to Yonhap News Agency, retail sales, a gauge of private spending, went up 2.5 percent over the cited period, also marking the second consecutive monthly increase. This also represents the sharpest on-month increase since February 2023, when the comparative figure rose by 6.1 percent. Facility investment saw a sharper increase in July, gaining 7.9 percent from the previous month. This marks a rebound following four consecutive months of decline through June. It was the first time since February that all three indicators rose simultaneously.
The growth in industrial output was largely driven by an increase in the mining and manufacturing sector, considered the backbone of the economy. By industry, output in the electronic components sector surged 20.9 percent on-month, and that of the machinery equipment added 6.5 percent. Such increases were partially offset by a 7.3 percent decline in automobile production, the sharpest monthly drop since July 2024, when production fell by 11.4 percent.
The agency said the vacation season and partial labor strikes at domestic carmakers, along with the production of electric vehicles at U.S. factories, negatively affected both production and exports. Semiconductor production dropped by 3.6 percent on-month, also marking the steepest decline since July last year, when it fell by 6.9 percent.
Retail sales of semidurable goods, such as apparel, rose 2.7 percent, and nondurable goods, including cosmetics, gained 1.1 percent. Sales of durable goods, such as home appliances, increased 5.4 percent. The statistics agency largely attributed the overall boost in consumption to government-issued cash handouts, called consumption coupons, that were distributed last month by President Lee Jae Myung's administration. "Retail sales in July increased due to consumer recovery programs such as consumption coupons and the energy-efficient home appliance rebate program," said Lee Doo-won, an official from Statistics Korea.
Facility investment gained ground across most sectors. Investment in transportation equipment rose by 18.1 percent, while investment in machinery climbed by 3.7 percent.