Milder output fall shows economic downturn slowing: report

SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy remains bogged down by sluggish consumption and job cuts, but a milder contraction in industrial output indicates the overall decline is slowing, a report said Monday.

South Korea's production in mining and manufacturing shrank 10.3 percent in
February from a drop of 25.5 percent tallied for the first month of the year,
according to the latest economic report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI).
"There was an improvement in the slowing down of production across the board,
indicating that the economic slide may be coming under control," the report said.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production gained 6.8 percent in
February compared to the previous month, with solid gains being tallied for
crucial areas such as semiconductors and autos, it added.
The KDI also said the service industry production index gained 0.1 percent
on-year, the first positive gain in four months.
"The seasonally adjusted month-on-month growth rate reached 1.2 percent, rising
at a faster pace than the previous month's 0.4 percent gain," the report said.
For exports and imports, the think tank said that while total volume continued to
decline due to worsening conditions at home and abroad, the trade balance reached
a record US$4.6 billion for February, helping stabilize foreign exchange rates.
Companies continued to shy away from making facility investments, but the overall
level of decline reached 21.2 percent in February, compared to a contraction of
25.9 percent reported for the month before.
The KDI report said employment conditions had worsened with a higher unemployment
rate and a fall in the number of employed workers, exerting a negative influence
on the economy as a whole.