SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s factory output fell more sharply than expected in November, government data showed on Monday, amid slowing exports and weakening business confidence.
The industrial output index fell 0.7% over the month on a seasonally adjusted basis, after no change in the prior month. That compared with a fall of 0.4% forecast in a Reuters survey of economists.
On an annual basis, the index was up 0.1%, according to Statistics Korea, slower than gains of 6.3% the month before and 0.4% expected by economists.
Last month, South Korea’s export growth slowed to a 14-month low, as shipments to the United States and China fell amid tariff uncertainty. The country’s business sentiment hit this month the weakest in more than four years.
