SEOUL, May 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's industrial production growth marked the highest in 17 months last month thanks mainly to solid exports for semiconductors and auto parts, a government report showed Thursday.
The fast increase in production was clouded by weakness in both investment and consumption. Facility investment weakened for two straight months, and retail sales turned downward in four months.
Production in all industries gained 1.5 percent in April from a month earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the highest monthly expansion since November last year.
After growing 1 percent in January, the industrial output declined 0.2 percent in February and 0.9 percent in March, respectively. It made a rebound last month due to robust global demand for locally-made chips and auto parts.
Production in the semiconductor and auto parts sectors gained ground on solid outbound shipment, pulling up an overall output in the mining and manufacturing industries.
Production for the mining and manufacturing companies advanced 3.4 percent in April from the prior month, after slumping 2.2 percent in March.
Manufacturers recorded an average capacity rate of 72.5 percent in April, up 2.2 percentage points from a month ago. Inventory in the manufacturing sector grew 1.3 percent in a bid to secure products in advance.
Production in the services sector was unchanged last month, after rising 0.4 percent in the previous month. Output in the lodging and food industries declined, but those in the finance and insurance sectors picked up last month.
The construction sector showed a bright picture. Constructions completed increased 4.4 percent in April on demand for both new buildings and civil engineering.
However, retail sales, which reflect private consumption, fell 1 percent in April from a month ago. It was a downturn in four months.
Sales of durable goods such as home appliances rose 1.2 percent, but those for semi-durables including clothing shrank 6 percent.
Facility investment, which shows the trend of corporate investment, slumped 3.3 percent in April from a month ago. It was on the decline for two straight months.
Investment in machinery gained ground last month, but the figure for transport equipment such as airplanes sank 17.4 percent.
The cyclical factor for leading economic indicators, which reflect outlook for economic conditions, dipped 0.4 points in April, keeping the downward momentum for the third straight month.
Despite the weakening of leading economic indicators, sentiment among South Korean businesses over economic situations improved for the second straight month through May on expectations for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Expectations were running high for the first-ever summit between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States to be held on June 12 in Singapore as scheduled.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un held their first summit at the border village of Panmunjom on April 27, signing and announcing the Panmunjom Declaration. Just a month later, Moon and Kim held their surprise second summit on May 26.
Under the Panmunjom Declaration, the two Koreas agreed to complete denuclearization and the alteration of the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty by the end of this year. The Korean Peninsula remains technically in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with armistice.
