11월 산업활동동향 전년동월대비 0.2% 증가

Data on industrial output for November is out.
Slight improvements compared to the same period last year.
But when it comes to nation's business sentiment, things are not looking so rosy.
Kim Ji-yeon breaks down the digits for us.
Industrial output across all sectors in South Korea edged up zero-point-two-percent in November compared to the same month last year.
Statistics Korea says the on-year increase is mainly due to an improvement in the services sector... which ticked up one percent last month.
The agency also cited output in the mining and manufacturing sectors,... which edged up by a mere zero-point-one-percent on-year in November.
However, facility investment plunged by the fastest pace in five years... dipping ten percent compared to the same period last year.
This is mainly due to a drop in semiconductor shipments which decreased by more than 16-percent on-month.
Retail sales increased by one-percent on-year, with cosmetics, entertainment and home appliances sales seeing the biggest gains.
But the prospects for industries ahead of the New Year look grim.
Data released by the Bank of Korea shows the business sentiment index for December has fallen to its lowest level in more than two years.
The index dropped two points from the previous month to 72.
A reading below 100 means there are more pessimists than optimists on the local economy.
A central bank official cited a sharp drop in sentiment among businesses in the chemical sector as the reason for the fall.
Chemical businesses said demand for their goods had slowed amid the China-U.S. trade war.
The prolonged slump in the construction and auto sectors also drove down sentiment in the metal industries.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.