Industrial production in South Korea advanced a seasonally adjusted 3.7 percent on month in December, Statistics Korea said on Friday.
That beat forecasts for an increase of 1.2 percent following the 0.3 percent gain in November.
On a yearly basis, industrial production jumped 3.4 percent - again exceeding expectations for a gain of 0.9 percent following the 0.5 percent increase in the previous month.
The Index of all industry production in December increased 0.5 percent on month and fell 0.3 percent on year.
The Manufacturing Production Index gained 3.7 percent on month and 3.4 percent on year. The Manufacturing Shipment Index added 1.3 percent on month and 2.1 percent on year. The Manufacturing Inventory Index fell 0.2 percent on month but increased 1.4 percent on year.
The Production Capacity Index gained 1.5 percent on month and 1.5 percent on year. The Index of Capacity Utilization Rate rose 0.8 percent on month and 0.4 percent on year.
The Manufacturing Average Capacity Utilization Rate in December marked 74.5 percent, which was up 0.6 percentage points on month. The Index of Services sank 1.1 percent on month and 2.2 percent on year. The Retail Sales Index rose 0.2 percent on month but shed 2.0 percent on year.
The Equipment Investment Index added 0.9 percent on month and 5.3 percent on year. The Domestic Machinery Shipment Index in December spiked 11.0 percent on year. The value of Domestic Machinery Orders Received in December sank 6.5 percent on year.
The value of Construction Completed at constant prices slipped 0.9 percent on month and 2.5 percent on year. The value of Construction Orders Received at current prices increased 2.0 percent on year.
The Composite Coincident Index in December increased by 0.3 percent from the previous month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Coincident Index, which reflects current economic situations, was flat on month.
The Composite Leading Index in December added 0.7 percent on month. The Cyclical Component of Composite Leading Index, which predicts the turning point in business cycle, increased by 0.5 points from the previous month.
Also on Friday, Statistics Korea said that the total value of retail sales in South Korea was up a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent on month in December - following the 1.0 percent contraction in November.
On a yearly basis, retail sales dropped 2.0 percent after sinking 1.5 percent in the previous month.
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