Roundup: S.Korea's industrial production reduces in 3 months on falling exports

Industrial production in South Korea reduced for the first time in three months on the back of falling exports, a main growth engine of the Asia's fourth-largest economy, a government report showed on Tuesday.

Output in all industries declined 0.8 percent in April from a month earlier, after growing 0.7 percent in February and March, according to Statistics Korea.

It was attributable to faltering exports, leading to reduced production especially among manufacturers. South Korea's exports declined for 16 months through April, posting the longest monthly fall in the country's history.

Production in the mining and manufacturing industries shrank 1.3 percent in April on a monthly basis, after sliding 1.3 percent in March. Output in semiconductors and primary metals rose 13.5 percent and 1.2 percent each, but those for automobiles and transport equipment tumbled 6.3 percent and 12.0 percent respectively.

Auto exports reduced last month, while the government's tax cuts on auto purchases last year raised the base compared with this month's figure.

Ship exports declined amid the government-led corporate restructuring in shipping and shipbuilding industries, which have struggled with massive losses and falling orders amid the global economic slowdown.

Inventory among manufacturers shed 2.3 percent month-on-month in April, lowering the inventory ratio of manufacturers by 0.9 percentage points from a month earlier to 124.2 percent last month.

The factory utilization rate of manufacturers dipped 2.7 percentage points from the previous month to 71.0 percent in April, the lowest since March 2009 when the rate recorded 69.9 percent.

Production among service firms rose 0.5 percent in April from a month earlier due to an increase in finance, insurance, healthcare and social welfare sectors that offset the decline in science, technology and business assistance industries.

Retail sales, which measure private consumption, declined in April after jumping 4.3 percent in March, which was the highest increase in more than seven years. Sales of semi-durable goods such as food and beverage inched up 0.4 percent, but those for durables and non-durables declined 2.0 percent and 0.2 percent each.

Facility investment expanded 3.4 percent last month due to demand from general machinery and transport equipment sectors.

Machinery orders tumbled 28.2 percent in April from a year earlier, the fastest reduction since August last year.

Completed construction dipped 6.7 percent in April on a monthly basis, recording the highest fall in more than four years. But, construction orders jumped 18.0 percent compared with a year ago.

The cyclical factor of leading economic indicators was unchanged in April from the previous month, but the figure for coincident indicators inched up 0.2 points. Enditem