SEOUL, June 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's industrial output fell for the second successive month due to negative effects of U.S. tariffs and sagging consumer demand, statistical office data showed Monday.
The seasonally-adjusted production index in all industries, which excludes the agriculture, livestock and fishery sector, declined 1.1 percent in May from a month earlier after diminishing 0.8 percent in the previous month, according to Statistics Korea.
Output among manufacturers dropped 3.0 percent last month, faster than a decrease of 0.6 percent in April on the back of U.S. protectionist moves that reduced demand for local products.
Manufacturers posted an average capacity ratio of 71.7 percent in May, down 2.1 percentage points compared with the previous month.
Production in the construction industry retreated 3.9 percent in May after sliding 1.4 percent in the previous month.
Output in the service industry slid 0.1 percent, but production in the public administration sector swelled 0.8 percent last month.
The retail sales index, which reflects private consumption, stood unchanged in May compared to the previous month, after reducing 0.9 percent in April.
Facility investment tumbled 4.7 percent in May, keeping a downward trend for the third straight month.
The cyclical variation factor for leading economic indicators, which gauges the outlook for future economic situations, slipped 0.1 point to 100.9 in May on a monthly basis.
The reading for coincident economic indicators, which measures the current economic condition, dipped 0.4 points to 98.5 in the cited month. ■
