Michelle ThompsonSEOUL, Dec 30 – South Korea’s factory output in November dropped more than expected, according to government data released on Monday, reflecting slowing exports and declining business confidence.
The industrial output index fell by 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis, following no change in the previous month. This was worse than the 0.4% decline predicted in a Reuters survey of economists.
Year-on-year, the index rose by 0.1%, a significant slowdown from the 6.3% increase the previous month and below the 0.4% expected by economists. Last month, South Korea’s export growth slowed to its lowest point in 14 months, with shipments to the United States and China dropping due to tariff uncertainty. Business sentiment in the country also hit its weakest level in over four years this month.
