S.Korea's industrial output falls on Galaxy Note 7 discontinuation, labor strike

South Korea's industrial output fell last month as Samsung Electronics discontinued its latest flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphones and railway workers went on strikes, a government report showed on Wednesday.

Production in all industries dipped 0.4 percent in October from a month earlier after sliding 0.8 percent in the previous month, according to Statistics Korea.

Samsung's end of production and sales in its latest Galaxy devices led the production in communication and broadcasting equipment to tumble 18.1 percent in October.

Auto and chip production advanced 4.6 percent and 3.8 percent each, but output in primary metals declined 4.0 percent.

Production in mining and manufacturing industries slumped 1.7 percent in October compared with the previous month. Manufacturers posted a factory utilization rate of 70.3 percent, down 1.3 percentage points.

Railway workers went on strikes last month amid the ongoing restructuring in troubled shipbuilders and shipping companies, weighing down on the service industry.

Service industry output inched down 0.2 percent as transport industry production declined 2.0 percent. It kept a downward trend for two months in a row.

Retail sales jumped 5.2 percent in October, marking the highest growth since December 1995. It was mainly attributable to the relatively steep reduction in the previous month that would prove to be a temporary effect.

Facility investment fell 0.4 percent in October from a month earlier on low demand for machinery. Machinery orders plunged 13.0 percent last month compared with a year ago. Endit