South Korea Industrial Production Climbs 4.3% In February

Industrial output in South Korea advanced a seasonally adjusted4.3 percent on month in February, Statistics Korea said on Wednesday.

That beat forecasts for a decline of 0.1 percent following the upwardly revised 1.2 percent contraction in January (originally -1.6 percent).

On a yearly basis, industrial production was up 0.9 percent - shy of expectations for an increase of 2.5 percent following the upwardly revised 7.8 percent jump in the previous month (originally 7.5 percent).

The Index of all industry production in February was up 2.1 percent on month and 0.4 percent on year.

The Manufacturing Production Index climbed 4.9 percent on month and 1.0 percent on year. The Manufacturing Shipment Index gained 2.2 percent on month and 1.3 percent on year. The Manufacturing Inventory Index in February rose 0.4 percent on month but fell 2.6 percent on year.

The Production Capacity Index fell 0.3 percent on month but gained 1.2 percent on year. The Index of Capacity Utilization Rate jumped 5.8 percent on month but shed 1.8 percent on year.

The Manufacturing Average Capacity Utilization Rate in February was 77.4 percent up 4.2 percentage points from the previous month. The Index of Services in February increased by 1.1 percent on month and 0.7 percent on year.

The Retail Sales Index in February lost 0.8 percent on month but increased 8.4 percent on year. The Equipment Investment Index fell 2.5 percent on month but gained 7.0 percent on year.

The Domestic Machinery Shipment Index in February eased 0.4 percent on year. The value of Domestic Machinery Orders Received in February surged an annual 26.7 percent.

The value of Construction Completed at constant prices increased by 6.5 percent on month but sank 8.7 percent on year. The value of Construction Orders Received at current prices shed 3.1 percent on year.

The Composite Coincident Index added 0.4 percent on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Coincident Index, which reflects current economic situations, rose 0.3 points on month.

The Composite Leading Index gained 0.5 percent on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Leading Index, which predicts the turning point in business cycle, increased by 0.2 points from the previous month.

Also on Wednesday, Statistics Korea said that the value of retail sales in South Korea was down a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent on month in February.

That missed expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent following the 1.6 percent increase in January.

On a yearly basis, retail sales climbed 8.4 percent - exceeding expectations for a gain of 5.0 percent following the flat reading in the previous month.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com

source http://www.mt5.com/forex_news/quickview/2174436/