SEOUL, March 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's industrial production, private consumption and facility investment fell in February on the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak, statistical office data showed Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted production in all industries, which exclude the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector, dived 3.5 percent in February from a month earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the biggest fall in nine years since February 2011.
Output in the mining and manufacturing industry declined 3.8 percent, marking the fastest reduction in more than 11 years since December 2008 when the global financial crisis roiled the economy.
Automotive production tumbled 27.8 percent in the month as the virus spread around the world caused the global supply disruption. It was the fastest diminution in about 13 and a half years.
Hit by the car industry's downturn, output in the machinery equipment and the electric equipment plummeted 5.9 percent and 9.0 percent each.
Semiconductor output grew 3.1 percent last month on the recovering demand for DRAM chips used for servers.
Production among manufacturers retreated 4.1 percent in February from a month earlier, and their shipment reduced 3.3 percent. Inventory in the manufacturing industry added 0.2 percent.
The ratio of inventory to shipment for manufacturers gained 4.1 percentage points over the month to 118.0 percent in February, marking the highest in over 21 years since September 1998. It indicated an increasing inventory caused by the economic slump.
Manufacturers logged an average factory utilization rate of 70.7 percent in February, the lowest in almost 11 years since March 2009. It was down 4.9 percentage points from the previous month.
Production in the services industry slumped 3.5 percent last month, posting the biggest monthly slide since relevant data began to be compiled in 2000.
Output in the eatery and lodging sector plunged 18.1 percent as consumers refrained from outside activities, such as shopping, travel and eating-out, due to the fear of infection.
Production in the transport and warehousing sector contracted 9.1 percent, with output in the wholesale and retail industry skidding 3.6 percent.
Retail sale, which reflects consumer spending, tumbled 6.0 percent in February from a month earlier, the fastest fall in nine years since February 2011.
The sale of semi-durable goods, such as clothing and shoes, plunged 17.7 percent, and those for durable and non-durable goods slipped 7.5 percent and 0.6 percent each.
Sale by department stores dropped 22.8 percent in the month, with sale in duty-free shops nosediving 34.3 percent.
Facility investment shrank 4.8 percent last month on the weakening of investment in the transport equipment sector, caused by the auto industry's downturn.
Machinery orders soared 22.2 percent in February from a year earlier, and construction orders jumped 28.5 percent on a yearly basis.
The cyclical factor for leading economic indicators, which measure the outlook for future economic situations, was unchanged at 100.3 in February from a month ago.
The figure for coincident indicators fell 0.7 points to 99.8 last month. It was the biggest monthly decline in nearly 11 years since January 2009.
