SEOUL, April 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's industrial output grew for a second straight month due to strong demand for semiconductors, statistical ministry data showed Thursday.
The seasonally-adjusted index of all industry production, which excludes the agriculture, livestock and fishery sector, added 0.3 percent in March from a month earlier after expanding 2.1 percent in February, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The consecutive growth was attributable to robust semiconductor demand.
Production among manufacturers swelled 0.3 percent in March on a monthly basis after surging 6.0 percent in the previous month.
Production in the construction industry reduced 7.3 percent, and output in the public administration sector dwindled 3.3 percent.
Output in the service industry increased 1.4 percent in March after going up 0.3 percent in February.
The average capacity utilization rate in the manufacturing industry gained 0.4 percentage points over the month to 74.8 percent in March.
The retail sales index, which reflects private consumption, climbed 1.8 percent in March compared with the previous month, rebounding from a reduction of 0.3 percent in February.
Facility investment mounted 1.5 percent in March, but completed construction retreated 7.3 percent.
The cyclical variation factor for leading economic indicators, which gauges the outlook for future economic situations, rose 0.7 points to 103.5 in March compared to the previous month.
The reading for coincident economic indicators, which measures the current economic condition, was up 0.5 points to 100.1 in the cited month. ■
