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S.Korea's manufacturing sentiment stays low on labor strikes in automakers

Xinhua, September 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Sentiment among South Korean manufacturers stayed low as laborers in key automakers went on partial strikes, central bank data showed on Friday.

The business sentiment index (BSI) for September stood at 71, unchanged from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading below 100 means pessimists outnumbered optimists.

The BSI among automakers tumbled from 76 in August to 65 in September as labor strikes in major carmakers, including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and GM Korea, boosted concerns about losses from production delay. The September figure was the lowest since June 2009.

Hyundai Motor, the country's No.1 automaker, faced 22 labor strikes in 2016 alone as of Thursday, causing an estimated production delay of 121,167 vehicles worth about 2.7 trillion won (2.45 billion U.S. dollars).

Business sentiment in the electronics and communications equipments increased 9 points over the month to 86 in September thanks to higher prices of DRAM chips.

The BSI among exporters declined 3 points to 72, but the index among companies depending mainly on domestic demand rose 2 points to 70 in September.

Meanwhile, the September BSI among non-manufacturers came in at 73, making no change compared with the previous month. Endit