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South Korea's industrial output fell 1.5 percent from a year ago in March, reflecting a poor performance in machinery and electronics, but domestic consumption showed signs of recovery, Statics Korea said in a report on Friday.
The drop was compared to a 2.2 percent increase in February that ended a three-month losing streak.
In March, production in the mining, manufacturing, electricity and gas industries fell 2.2 percent on-month despite a 4.8 percent increase in automobiles and a 22.4 percent rise in telecommunications.
The semiconductor sector registered a 21.3 percent drop and metal reprocessing was down 6.7 percent, leading the monthly decline.
Domestic consumption rose to a four-month high of 5.7 percent on-year in March, boosted by durable goods such as consumer electronics, cars, and telecommunication devices. Consumption also increased 4.2 percent in March, marking the highest on-month gain in seven years.
Production in the service sector expanded 2.7 percent on-year and 0.8 percent on-month.
Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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