SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - South Korea’s industrial output fell for a second straight month in May as factory output dropped 3 percent on chip delivery adjustments, underscoring the weight of chipmaking on the economic performance, government data showed Tuesday.
Manufacturing production fell 3.0 percent from the previous month, the steepest fall in a year, and dropped 0.9 percent from a year earlier. Output in the broader mining and manufacturing likewise fell 3.0 percent from April.
The index of all industry production, excluding agriculture, forestry and fisheries, fell 0.3 percent from the previous month, extending a 0.4 percent decline in April, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
From a year earlier, overall production rose 2.3 percent, softening from 2.4 percent in April and 3.7 percent in March.
Semiconductor production fell 10.0 percent due to lower output of flash memory and DRAM chips owing to delivery adjustments, rather than a fall in demand, the ministry said.
Retail sales edged up 0.1 percent after falling 3.5 percent in April, while equipment investment slipped 0.1 percent.
Services output rose 1.3 percent and construction completed rebounded 3.8 percent, helping cushion the broader decline. The cyclical component of the coincident composite index, which reflects current economic conditions, fell 0.3 point to 99.9, while the leading index rose 0.7 point to 104.8.
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