2020.05.2900:56:00UTC+00South Korea Industrial Production Falls 6.0% In April

Industrial output in South Korea dropped a seasonally adjusted 6.0 percent on month in April, Statistics Korea said on Friday.

That missed expectations for a decline of 3.2 percent following the 4.6 percent increase in March.

On a yearly basis, industrial production sank 4.5 percent - again missing forecasts for a fall of 2.2 percent after rising 7.1 percent in the previous month.

The Index of All Industry Production was down 2.5 percent on month and 5.0 percent on year.

The Manufacturing Production Index in April fell 6.4 percent on month and 4.7 percent on year. The Manufacturing Shipment Index lost 7.2 percent on month and 7.3 percent on year. The Manufacturing Inventory Index eased 0.4 percent on month but added 2.5 percent on year.

The Production Capacity Index in April eased 0.1 percent on month but climbed.8 percent on year. The Index of Capacity Utilization Rate dropped 7.7 percent on month and 8.5 percent on year.

The Manufacturing Average Capacity Utilization Rate in April was 68.6 percent, down 5.7 percentage points from the previous month. The Index of Services gained 0.5 percent on month but lost 6.1 percent on year.

The Retail Sales Index added 5.3 percent on month but lost 2.2 percent on year. The Equipment Investment Index gained 5.0 percent on month and 1.4 percent on year.

The Domestic Machinery Shipment Index in April added 0.9 percent on year, while the value of Domestic Machinery Orders Received eased an annual 0.2 percent.

In April, the value of Construction Completed at constant prices shed 2.4 percent on month and 2.7 percent on year. The value of Construction Orders Received at current prices plummeted an annual 44.9 percent.

The Composite Coincident Index in April fell 1.1 percent on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Coincident Index, which reflects current economic situations, shed 1.3 points on month.

The Composite Leading Index eased 0.2 percent on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Leading Index, which predicts the turning point in business cycle, fell 0.5 points on month.

Also on Friday, Statistics Korea said that the total value of retail sales in South Korea was up a seasonally adjusted 5.3 percent on month in April.

That exceeded expectations for an increase of 1.5 percent following the 1.0 percent decline in March.

On a yearly basis, retail sales fell 2.2 percent - but that also beat forecasts for a fall of 5.0 percent following the 8.0 percent drop in the previous month.