SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s factory output grew at its sharpest pace in eight months in February and far outperformed forecasts, mostly due to a boost in semiconductor and chemicals production.
Industrial production in February rose by a seasonally-adjusted 4.3% from a month earlier, Statistics Korea said on Wednesday, rebounding from a 1.2% contraction in January and beating a median forecast of a 0.1% decline.
From a year earlier, factory output rose 0.9%, missing a 2.5% increase tipped in a Reuters survey and slowing from the previous month’s 7.8% expansion.
(Reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Tom Hogue)
