SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) — Figures released on Thursday showed that South Korea’s industrial output, retail sales, and facility investment all decreased in July, raising worries of an economic slowdown.
Statistics Korea reported that the industrial output dropped by 0.7 percent from the previous month, with the mining, manufacturing, gas, and electricity industries all declining by 2 percent due to a slump in the electronic components sector.
The service output increased by 0.4 percent, however, because of the information and communication segment. Meanwhile, the retail and wholesale sector saw a 1.2 percent decrease in output.
Retail sales dropped 3.2 percent, mainly due to weak demand for durable goods such as automobiles, which fell 5.1 percent. The demand for semidurable goods, including clothing, also decreased 3.6 percent.
Facility investment plunged 8.9 percent, with the transportation equipment and machinery segments performing particularly poorly. This was the biggest fall since the 12.6 percent drop recorded in March 2012.
“The economy appears to be in a sluggish state,” an official from the agency said. “Retail sales and facility investment fell by a wide margin amid the weaker sales of automobiles.” The official added that people also avoided outdoor activities because of heavy rains during the month, which further contributed to the overall decline in consumer sales.
This Aug. 1, 2023, file photo shows containers stacked at a port in the southeastern city of Busan. (Yonhap)
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