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S Korea's factory output dips on weaker domestic demand | |
(40 minutes later) | |
South Korea's industrial output shrank in November as weaker domestic demand weighed on the construction and services sectors. | |
Output fell by 0.4% from October, the statistical office said, worse than many analysts had predicted. | |
Spending on equipment, construction and the service industry saw the biggest declines. | |
Issues such as the global slowdown and high levels of household debt are weighing on many consumers and firms. | |
The figures come a day after the Bank of Korea said its manufacturing sentiment index fell to its lowest level in almost two-and-a-half years amid growing concerns about the depth of the global economic slowdown. | |
The Bank of Korea's manufacturers' outlook index fell to 79 in January from 83 in December. That was the lowest reading since the 78 recorded in July 2009. | |
Businesses blamed the gloomy outlook on sluggish local demand, soft global economic conditions and higher raw material costs. | |
Good or bad? | |
For some observers, Thursday's industrial output report will only add to the feeling of gloom affecting many companies and consumers. | |
"We've been seeing worsening numbers on both the real economic and sentiment fronts. Today's set of indicators added to that and could drag sentiment down in turn," said Yum Sang-hoon, a fixed-income analyst at SK Securities. | |
However, Thursday's statistical office report was not all bad news. | |
The annual rate of industrial output was up 5.6% in November when compared to the same month a year earlier. | |
At the same time, exports in the mining and manufacturing sectors rose by 8%, the report said. | |
South Korea relies on exports for roughly half of its total economic output. |
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