Production, consumption investment declines triple in five months of 'economic cold snap'

[Anchor]
Yesterday, the Bank of Korea unexpectedly lowered its key interest rate for the second month in a row and said that boosting the economy is a priority.

Last month, the first month of the fourth quarter, all three indicators of industrial activity in Korea decreased all at once.

Lee Seung-eun reports.

[Reporter]
Last month, production, consumption, and investment in all industries all fell from a month ago.

Overall industrial production fell 0.3%, retail sales, an indicator of goods consumption, fell 0.4%, and investment fell, including a 5.8% decrease in facility investment and a 4% decrease in construction technology.

This is the first triple decline in five months since May.

Last month, production in all industries decreased for two months compared to the previous month.

Cars fell 6.3% and wholesale and retail fell 1.4% due to strikes and fires.

However, semiconductors increased 8.4% and the service industry rebounded due to an increase in tourists visiting Korea.

Construction capabilities have all decreased for six months compared to a month ago and compared to last year.

In particular, construction orders, a leading indicator, fell 11.9% from last year.

Retail sales also continued to be sluggish.

The demand for home appliances has decreased significantly in warm weather.

Retail sales fell for the second consecutive month compared to the previous month, especially for the eighth consecutive month compared to last year.

The government said production in all industries was a 2.3% plus rebound in a month compared to last year, but it was largely driven by semiconductor production.

[Kong Mi-sook / Statistics Korea Economic Trend Statistics Director: It is up 1.9% due to the cumulative total in October. So, overall, the manufacturing and service industries in the production sector are the largest, so that part of production continues. On the other hand, consumption is not keeping up with it now, and the construction industry is not good now.]

The revised forecast by the Korea Development Institute and the Bank of Korea is 2.2 percent in our economy this year.

However, there is a sense of crisis that industrial activity indicators may not be achieved due to sluggish industrial activity indicators from the first month of the fourth quarter.

I'm YTN's Lee Seung Eun.


Video Edit Han Soo-min

Design Lee In-eun