Posted on 10/29/2013 6:58:01 PM PDT by TexGrill
(Reuters) - South Korea's industrial production fell the most in six months in September from August as strikes hit top automakers Hyundai Motor Co. (005380.KS) and Kia Motors Corp. (000270.KS), denting a recent run of upbeat data.
Industrial output fell by a seasonally adjusted 2.1 percent in September from August, data released by Statistics Korea data showed on Wednesday. August's reading was revised down to 1.6 percent growth from a preliminary 1.8 percent rise.
The output numbers showed the sharpest decline since March and were worse than any individual forecast provided in a Reuters survey of 13 economists. The median forecast from the survey was a 0.4 percent fall.
The data came after central bank data showed last week Asia's fourth-largest economy grew a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent in the third quarter over the previous quarter, beating market expectations and matching a 2-year high set in the April-June period.
Auto production plunged by a seasonally adjusted 18.6 percent in September from August, the biggest monthly loss in nearly five years and it alone pulled down the overall output index by 2.36 percent, the data showed.
"While the data showed a sharp contraction in output, this doesn't signify a major setback for the economy," said Lee Chul-hee, chief economist at Tong Yang Securities, also blaming disruption in operations at the country's top automakers.
Statistics Korea data showed without the disruption of the car industry, overall industrial output would have posted a small gain.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
WOW... the useless UAW at work in South Korea.....very sad, very pathetic.
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