(2nd LD) Korea's industrial output gains 0.4 pct in November

(ATTN: ADDS details, finance ministry's statement in last 4 paras)
By Kim Deok-hyun

SEJONG, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's industrial output growth accelerated in November, supported by a modest gain in the service sector, data showed Monday.

The November industrial output rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier, rebounding from a 0.4 percent decline in October, with both retail sales and facility investment growing from a month earlier in November, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The data showed the production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries declined 0.4 percent from a month earlier, while the output in the service sector increased 1.4 percent on-month.

From a year earlier, industrial output grew 1.2 percent.

Retail sales rose 3 percent in November from a month earlier, helped by gains in sales of cars and clothes, according to the data.

Facility investment gained 1.1 percent in November from a month earlier on rising imports of airplane equipment, the data showed.

Kim Bo-kyoung, director of Statistics Korea's industry statistics division, said the overall industrial production increased in November, but the momentum of a recovery was still weak.

The index of leading indicators grew 0.4 percent in November from a year earlier, compared with a 0.3 percent gain in October, according to the data.

The November data means that the nation's economy is unlikely to slow down in the first quarter of next year, Kim said.

In a statement, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said it will spare no efforts to swiftly lift recovery momentum next year.

The data came amid expectations that Asia's fourth-largest economy will grow 2 percent this year, probably the slowest in more than a decade, in the face of a lengthy trade row between the United States and China, the country's top two trading partners, and a protracted slump in the chipmaking sector.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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