S.Korea's private consumption rebounds as political uncertainty eased

South Korea's private consumption rebounded in four months as political uncertainty was eased ahead of the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, a government report showed Friday.

Production in all industries declined in four months for one-off factors, according to Statistics Korea data.

Industrial output fell 0.4 percent in February from a month earlier, posting the first reduction in four months as mining and manufacturing industries temporarily corrected a production capability.

Production in the mining and manufacturing sectors retreated 3.4 percent last month on soft demand for cars and semiconductors. It was the fastest decline since December 2008.

Manufacturers logged an average capacity rate of 70.9 percent in February, down 3.3 percentage points from the previous month.

Retail sales, which reflect consumer spending, grew 3.2 percent in February on a monthly basis, the first increase in four months on expectations for the motion to impeach Park to be upheld by the constitutional court.

Park was removed from office in the court's historic ruling on March 10, and she was arrested early Friday for criminal allegations including bribery, abuse of power and coercion.

The country has been headed by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn who is serving as acting president, since the bill was passed in the parliament in December last year, boosting concerns about political uncertainty.

As expectations for the impeachment to be upheld by the court, consumers began to spend money and boosted the overall retail sales.

Facility investment tumbled 8.9 percent in February compared with the prior month, the biggest decline since July last year.

Given the mixed economic indicators for consumption and production, it remains to be seen whether the export-driven economy got back into a recovery track. Endit