South Korea's overall industrial output went up in May from the previous month.
But businesses are still pessimistic about the business environment in the near future.

Won Jung-hwan reports.

Industrial production in May increased by 0-point-3-percent from the previous month.
According to data by Statistics Korea on Friday,… South Korea's industrial output increased in May from a month earlier on the back of a rise in production in the automobile and telecommunication sectors.

But retail sales fell for the second month in a row, dropping by one-percent due to sluggish sales in the domestic automobile sector.
The equipment investment index in May also fell by 3-point-2-percent from the previous month, and 4-point-1-percent from the same period last year.

And businesses have a gloomy outlook for the near future.
According to the Bank of Korea on Friday,... South Korean manufacturing businesses' expectations for the upcoming month came to 80 on the Business Survey Index,… up by one point from the figure for June.
BSI is an indicator of the business conditions expected for the coming month,… and a reading below 100 means the number of companies pessimistic about the business environment is larger than those with a positive outlook.

The central bank said the U.S.-China trade dispute has affected business sentiment as South Korea depends highly on exports to the world's two largest economies.

There is speculation that the country's exports of intermediary products to the U.S. and China will be hit by the fall in overall production of certain goods amid the escalating trade dispute between the two countries.

Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.