SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s factory production contracted for a second straight month in August, less than expected, while retail sales rose, government data showed on Friday.
The country’s industrial output fell 1.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, up from 1.3 percent in July and 0.5 percent in a Reuters poll.
1.0% year-over-year growth compared to the same period last year also did not see the survey’s 1.3% increase, the slowest increase since September 2021.
Services output rose 1.5% month-on-month, while retail sales rose 4.3%, the fastest pace since May 2020.
