Korea: Industrial production contracts again in March
Industrial production in the mining, manufacturing, and gas and electricity sectors dropped 4.3% in March compared to the same month last year, less than February’s revised 6.8% contraction (previously reported: -6.4% year-on-year) but still representing the second consecutive month of heavy year-on-year contraction. Moreover, annual average growth in industrial production decelerated to 0.2% in March (February: +1.0% yoy).
Output in the manufacturing sector decreased 4.7% in March (February: -7.8% yoy) on the back of weak activity in the automobile and machinery sectors. The average factory capacity utilization rate, meanwhile, fell to 70.3% in March from February’s 72.1%.
A month-on-month comparison adjusted for seasonality shows that industrial production fell 2.5% in March, contrasting with February’s 0.8% increase.