SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean factory activity fell for a sixth consecutive month in December, a business survey shown on Monday showed. /2 years.
The S&P Global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for South Korean manufacturers fell last month to a seasonally adjusted 48.2 from 49.0 in November.
After slightly improving for two months from a more than two-year low of 47.3 in September, it fell again but fell below the 50 mark that separates expansion and contraction for the sixth straight month.
According to the sub-index, output fell for the eighth straight month, new orders fell for the sixth straight month, and new export orders fell for the tenth straight month.
In particular, both new orders and exports declined at the fastest pace since June 2020, and purchases of input materials and overtime also declined at the fastest pace in about two and a half years.
Meanwhile, supplier deliveries were the worst since June as truck drivers in South Korea went on strike for the second time in 2022.
“December’s PMI data provides further evidence that South Korean manufacturers continue to struggle in the face of the current global economic downturn,” said Laura Denman, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. did.
“Low customer demand on a national and international scale has been central to the recent deterioration.”
On the inflation front, input prices rose at their slowest pace since January 2021, while the pace of output price increases slowed significantly, marking their 27th consecutive month of gains.
Manufacturers are marginally optimistic about future output in the year ahead, with levels of optimism just above the neutral threshold, the lowest level since July 2020.
Reported by Jihoon Lee.Edited by Sam Holmes
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