[Courtesy of port authorities in Busan]
South Korea's industrial output registered a two percent fall in September, ending a four-month rise, due to poor sales in cars and mobile devices, official data showed Monday.
In September, output in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries fell two percent from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. It marked a drop for the first time in five months. Industrial output was up 0.3 percent on month in September.
Private consumption remained weak last month, rising 0.5 percent on-year, the slowest pace since January 2015, when it fell 2.4 percent. From a month earlier, consumption slid 4.5 percent, the steepest on-month decline in nearly six years.
Consumption was affected by the end of a tax-cut program for cars and Hyundai Motor's walkouts as well as slow sales in foodstuffs and home appliances.
Sluggish demand for cars and a global recall of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 contributed to a drop in output in September. Car output slipped 14.3 percent on-year in September and production of communications equipment such as mobile phones fell 21.1 percent on-year.
Production in the service sector gained 2.8 percent a year earlier, Statistics Korea said.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
