Manufacturing 'Domestic Sales and Exports' February Outlook Both Rise... "Growing Optimism for Improvement"

Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, Survey Results of Industry Experts on "January Current Status and February Outlook"

Manufacturing Outlook PSI 130... Surpasses 100 for 8 Consecutive Months
ICT Sector Sees Double-Digit Surge for 2 Consecutive Months

PSI Outlook by Major Categories of Domestic Manufacturing Industry.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] In February this year, both domestic demand and export outlooks in manufacturing rose together for the first time in three months, indicating growing optimism. In particular, the business outlook index for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector showed a double-digit increase for two consecutive months.

On the 25th, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) announced the results of an industrial business expert survey on the 'January 2021 Current Status and February Outlook.'

KIET conducts a monthly 'Expert Survey' targeting experts from major domestic industries through FN Guide and Metrics, and publishes the quantified expert survey index (PSI) for each category based on the Business Survey Index (BSI) formula. The January survey was conducted from the 13th to the 19th, with 170 experts responding about 235 industries. The responses for each category are aggregated on a scale from 0 to 200, where 100 indicates no change from the previous month; values closer to 200 indicate a majority expecting an increase (improvement) compared to the previous month, while values near 0 indicate a majority expecting a decrease (deterioration).

First, the manufacturing outlook for February showed a positive sentiment with a business outlook PSI of 130, surpassing 100. Both domestic demand (126) and exports (127) rose together for the first time in three months, and production (118) also turned upward after three months. Investment amount (112) remained above 100.

By sector, the ICT sector recorded 143, showing a double-digit surge for the second consecutive month, greatly expanding expectations for improvement compared to the previous month. The equipment sector (124) and materials sector (119) also turned upward, unlike the previous quarter, indicating a high possibility of improvement. Notably, semiconductors rose 28 points from the previous month to 170.

The January current business status PSI showed that among the three major manufacturing sectors, ICT (138) turned upward and significantly exceeded 100, while equipment (114) and materials (112) continued to decline. By industry, most sectors including semiconductors exceeded 100, but the chemical industry recorded 95, falling below 100 for the first time since May last year.

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