Industrial output falls for 2nd month in Feb.

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's industrial output fell for the second straight month in February as economic uncertainty has heightened amid the upsurge in COVID-19 cases and surging energy costs driven by the Ukraine crisis, data showed Thursday.

Industrial output declined 0.2 percent in February from the previous month, compared with a 0.3 percent on-month fall in January, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

Compared with a year earlier, industrial output rose 4.3 percent.

Asia's fourth-largest economy has been on a recovery track on the back of robust exports. But economic uncertainty at home and abroad has heightened, led by the fast spread of the omicron variant and the Ukraine conflict.

Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, grew a mere 0.1 percent on-month in February, compared with a 2.1 percent on-month fall in January.

Facility investment fell 5.7 percent on-month in February, compared with a 2.1 percent on-month gain in January.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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