Roundup: S. Korea's industrial production reduces for 2 months

Industrial production in South Korea reduced for two straight months due to sluggish exports that caused a fall in production among manufacturers, a government report showed Wednesday.

Production in all industries declined 0.5 percent in November from a month earlier, after falling 1.3 percent in the previous month, according to Statistics Korea.

The industrial activity maintained a growth trend from June to September, but it turned downward due mainly to the sluggishness in exports, which tumbled 4.7 percent in November from a year earlier. The exports kept a falling trend for 11 months in a row.

Concerns about the sour exports and industrial activity, the Bank of Korea is expected to revise down its growth forecast for the economy in January.

According to the BOK minutes for the Dec. 10 rate-setting meeting, some of the monetary policymakers hinted at the possible downward revision of its 2016 outlook of 3.2 percent.

The BOK's outlook for 2016 was higher than the government's 3.1 percent and those in the mid- and upper range of 2 percent estimated by most of local economic think tanks.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's turned into a tighter monetary policy in December by raising its policy rate for the first time in about a decade, contributing to worries about the global economic outlook.

Production in the mining and manufacturing industries reduced 2.1 percent in November from a month earlier.

Chip production retreated 9.7 percent, and output in the communication and broadcasting equipment sector sank 20.2 percent.

Inventory among manufacturers surged 6.2 percent on-year last month. Amid the rising inventory, manufacturers operated at a capacity of 72.7 percent in November, marking the lowest in more than six years since April 2009.

Production among service companies inched up 0.1 percent in November from a month ago.

Retail sales, which measure private consumption, slumped 1.1 percent in November on a monthly basis. Sales in semi-durable goods declined 3.5 percent, with sales in non-durable goods like car fuel falling 0.5 percent. Durable goods sales such as consumer electronics inched down 0.3 percent.

Private consumption jumped in October when the government launched the South Korean version of Black Friday, but the November consumption slid after the Black Friday effect disappeared.

From a year earlier, the retail sales jumped 5.5 percent in November, keeping a high growth trend.

Facility investment sank 6 percent in November from a month earlier on the back of soft demand for transport equipment and machinery.

Machinery orders plunged 15 percent on lower demand from both public and private sectors ahead of the year end.

Completed construction fell 0.8 percent in November on a monthly basis, but construction orders surged 104.0 percent last month on a yearly basis due to demand from office buildings and civil engineering orders.

The cyclical factor of leading indicators, which reflects an economic outlook, was down 0.1 point in November, with the figure for coincident indicators falling 0.1 point. Enditem