Korea: Industrial activity drops at sharpest pace since February in July
Industrial output fell 2.0% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in July, which was a larger contraction than June’s 1.5% decrease. The result marked the worst reading since February. July’s reading was partly due to a deterioration in manufacturing output, which fell at the sharpest pace since February. In addition, electricity, gas and steam production weakened at a faster rate.
On an annual basis, industrial production plunged 7.9% in seasonally adjusted terms in July, which was greater than June’s 7.4% fall. Moreover, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 6.5% in July, down from June’s minus 5.6%.