Korea: Industrial activity drops at sharpest pace since March 2009 in December
Industrial production nosedived 9.2% year on year in seasonally-adjusted terms in December (November: -3.4% s.a. yoy). December’s result marked the worst reading since March 2009. The figure was chiefly driven by a fall in manufacturing production. In addition, mining and quarrying production contracted heavily.
On a monthly basis, industrial production declined 2.9% in seasonally adjusted terms in December, contrasting Novembers 0.6% expansion. Meanwhile, the trend pointed down, with the annual average growth of industrial production coming in at an over one-year low of 1.4% in December, down from November’s 2.7% reading.