Seoul, August 31 (QNA) – South Korea’s industrial output was unchanged in July from a month earlier, while retail sales declined and facility investment jumped, data showed on Monday, pointing to mixed momentum in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Industrial production remained flat in July after falling 0.5% in April and 0.4% in May, before rebounding 2.4% in June, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

Output in the mining and manufacturing sector, a key pillar of the economy, edged up 0.2%, supported by a 20.7% increase in electronic component production. Semiconductor output also rose 0.5%, while automobile production fell 4.5%.

Service-sector output, meanwhile, contracted 1.3% in July from the previous month, marking its sharpest decline since a 1.7% drop in February 2022. The decline was attributed mainly to high consumer prices and a heat wave.

Output in the information and communications sector increased 3.5%, while production in the finance and insurance sector fell 4.8%, with the decline attributed to lower stock market turnover.

Retail sales, a gauge of private consumption, fell 2.4% in July, led by weaker sales of durable goods, including automobiles, amid high consumer prices. Sales of durable goods dropped 7.7%, while semidurable goods, such as clothing, declined 1.4%. Sales of nondurable goods, including cosmetics, slipped 0.1%.

In contrast, facility investment surged 7.5% in July from a month earlier, marking its strongest increase since a 15% rise in February.

Investment in transportation equipment jumped 15.4%, led by ships and aircraft, while investment in machinery, including semiconductor production equipment, increased 4.2%. (QNA)