(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS details throughout, photo)

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's industrial output rebounded in June from a month earlier, snapping two months of decline led by the automobile and semiconductor industries, data showed Friday, with retail sales and facility investment also gaining ground.

Industrial production added 2.3 percent last month from May, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked the sharpest growth since a 2.9 percent rise posted in June 2020.

It was also the first time since March for the three economic indicators to rise simultaneously.

Output in the mining and manufacturing sector, a key pillar of the economy, shot up 6.4 percent on the back of the automobile and chip industries.

In detail, output from the automobile and semiconductor sectors rose 15.4 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. The output in the crucial chip industry had shed 10 percent on-month in May.

The ministry attributed the strong gains in the two sectors to hybrid cars and memory chips, respectively.

The report, however, showed output from the electronic components sector fell 10.4 percent.

Output in the service sector rose 0.7 percent over the period, driven by the finance and insurance sector, although output in the information and communication segment backtracked 3 percent.

Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, rose 2.7 percent over the period, led by durable goods, such as cars.

The report showed sales of semidurable goods, such as clothes, fell 1.7 percent, while those of durable goods, such as cars and computers, rose 12.6 percent. Sales of non-durable goods, including food, increased 0.2 percent.

Facility investment also shot up 5.8 percent in June from a month earlier, the data showed.

The latest official findings showed investment in machinery and transportation equipment, including cars, rose 6.9 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

colin@yna.co.kr

(END)

  • Police drop underage dating charge against actor Kim Soo-hyun
  • S. Korea formally completes development of homegrown KF-21 fighter jet
  • Fans, celebrities support BTS' Grammy boycott
  • S. Korea in talks with U.S. military over air base access following white phosphorus leak: sources

  • BTS' 'Arirang' returns to top 10 on Billboard 200

  • S. Korea formally completes development of homegrown KF-21 fighter jet

  • Police drop underage dating charge against actor Kim Soo-hyun
  • S. Korea in talks with U.S. military over air base access following white phosphorus leak: sources
  • (3rd LD) SK Group chairman ordered to pay 944 bln won in asset division to ex-wife

  • Trump threatens 'substantial' Section 301 tariffs on EU after Google fine

  • Police drop underage dating charge against actor Kim Soo-hyun

  • Fans, celebrities support BTS' Grammy boycott
  • S. Korea formally completes development of homegrown KF-21 fighter jet
  • (2nd LD) U.S. military drone flies over inter-Korean border area, prompts civilian evacuation
  • U.S. mulling US$100,000 fee for foreign students hoping to work after graduation: WSJ