'Production, Consumption, and Investment' Surprise Triple Increase (Follow-up)

Statistics Korea, June Industrial Activity Trends

[Sejong=Asia Economy reporters Kim Hyunjung and Joo Sangdon] Last month, production, consumption, and investment all increased.

On the 31st, Statistics Korea announced the 'June Industrial Activity Trends' containing this information.

According to the report, total industrial production last month rose 4.2% compared to the previous month, retail sales increased by 2.4%, and facility investment grew by 5.4%. This is the first time in five months since December 2019 that production, consumption, and investment figures have all increased.

Mining and manufacturing production, as well as electricity and gas industries, all increased, resulting in a 7.2% rise compared to the previous month. This is the largest increase in 11 years and 4 months since February 2009 (7.3%) during the global financial crisis.

In particular, manufacturing production rose 7.4% month-on-month despite a 1.1% decrease in primary metals, driven by increases in automobiles (22.9%) and semiconductors (3.8%). Manufacturing shipments increased by 8.4% compared to the previous month, with growth in automobiles and chemical products. Export shipments rose 9.8%, marking the largest increase in 32 years and 9 months since September 1987 (19.2%). Meanwhile, inventories decreased by 1.4% month-on-month due to reductions in chemical products and primary metals, although electronic components and electrical equipment inventories increased. The average operating rate in manufacturing rose 4.9 percentage points from the previous month to 68.3%.

The retail sales index increased by 2.4% compared to the previous month, with sales of durable goods such as passenger cars (4.1%), semi-durable goods like clothing (4.7%), and non-durable goods including cosmetics (0.4%) all rising.

Facility investment grew by 5.4% month-on-month, with investments in machinery such as precision instruments (4.7%) and transportation equipment like automobiles (7.2%) both increasing. Construction performance (constant prices) rose 0.4% compared to the previous month, as building construction increased (0.7%) despite a decrease in civil engineering (-0.3%).

The coincident index cyclical component, which reflects the current economic situation, and the leading index cyclical component, which forecasts future economic conditions, both rose simultaneously for the first time in five months. They increased by 0.2 points and 0.4 points respectively compared to the previous month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.