“Last month, overall industrial production continued its upward trend for the second consecutive month. However, despite this increase, the service sector production decreased, and domestic demand remained sluggish with a drop in retail sales and investment.
According to the March industrial activity trends released by Statistics Korea on the 30th, the overall industrial production index for last month was 114.7 (with 2020 as the baseline of 100), which marks a 0.9% increase from the previous month.
After a 1.6% decrease in January, overall industrial production rebounded with a 1.0% increase in February, continuing the growth trend for two consecutive months.
In the mining and manufacturing sector, production saw a 2.9% increase from the previous month, primarily driven by a 3.2% increase in the manufacturing sector.
Semiconductor production surged by 13.3%, marking the largest increase since August 2023.
On the other hand, the construction industry’s production decreased by 2.7%, failing to maintain the growth trend from February.
Service industry production, which reflects service consumption, decreased by 0.3% compared to the previous month.
The retail sales index, indicating the consumption of goods, also saw a decline, with a 0.3% decrease, primarily in durable goods.
Facility investment increased in transportation equipment such as automobiles, but decreased in machinery, resulting in a 0.9% decline from the previous month.
The coincident composite index, which indicates the current economic situation, rose by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month.
The leading composite index, which forecasts future economic conditions, also increased by 0.2 percentage points.
(Photo: Yonhap News)”