South Korea experienced a notable surge in industrial output, increasing by a seasonally adjusted 4.6 percent in December as reported by Statistics Korea on Monday. This figure significantly surpassed the predicted 0.4 percent rise, following November's adjusted decline of 0.3 percent (initially reported as a 0.7 percent drop).
Year-over-year, industrial output saw a 5.3 percent increase, exceeding forecasts of 0.7 percent and improving from November's marginal 0.1 percent gain. The Index of All Industry Production for December rose by 2.3 percent month-over-month and 1.4 percent year-over-year.
The Manufacturing Production Index saw an ascent of 4.4 percent monthly and 5.5 percent annually. Meanwhile, the Manufacturing Shipment Index experienced an 8.2 percent monthly jump and a 2.0 percent annual rise, whereas the Manufacturing Inventory Index decreased by 3.6 percent monthly and 2.0 percent annually.
The Production Capacity Index increased by 1.1 percent monthly and 0.7 percent annually, while the Capacity Utilization Rate Index went up by 2.5 percent monthly and 1.7 percent annually. The Manufacturing Average Capacity Utilization Rate improved to 73.5 percent, marking an increase of 1.9 percentage points from the prior month.
Services Index gained 1.7 percent monthly and 1.2 percent annually, rebounding from a 0.2 percent monthly dip and a 0.9 percent annual rise in November. Retail sales saw a 0.6 percent monthly decline, following a downwardly revised flat outcome in November (originally reported as a 0.4 percent increase). Annually, retail sales fell by 3.3 percent after a 2.2 percent drop the previous month.
The Equipment Investment Index improved by 9.9 percent monthly and 13.1 percent annually. However, the Domestic Machinery Shipment Index decreased by 5.3 percent year-over-year, and the value of Domestic Machinery Orders Received fell by 5.4 percent annually.
In December, the value of Construction Completed, calculated at constant prices, rose by 1.3 percent monthly but decreased by 8.3 percent annually. At current prices, the value of Construction Orders Received plummeted by 26.0 percent year-over-year.
The Composite Coincident Index saw a slight increase of 0.2 percent monthly. The Cyclical Component of the Composite Coincident Index, reflecting current economic conditions, remained unchanged from the previous month.
The Composite Leading Index showed stability from November figures, while the Cyclical Component of the Composite Leading Index, indicating business cycle turning points, dipped by 0.2 points from the prior month.
