South Korea’s industrial production falls 1.8% in Jan

According to media reports, data from Statistics Korea showed that South Korea’s industrial production fell 1.8% on the month in January following an increase of 1.3% in December. On a yearly basis, the country’s industrial production declined 1.9% in January. Both on a monthly and yearly basis, the January data posted steeper declines than Bloomberg economists’ expectations which called for decreases of 0.6% and 1%, respectively.

The decline in industrial production was attributed to weaker exports. In February, South Korea’s exports fell for a fourteenth straight month, declining by 12.2% due to weak global demand, lower oil prices and the slowing Chinese economy.