Durable goods sales post largest growth on record in November

SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Yonhap) -- Domestic sales of durable goods, such as cars and
electronic devices, surged a record 46.9 percent in November last year,
indicating that South Korean consumers have begun to snap up big-ticket items on
hopes of a recovering economy, government agencies said Sunday.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Statistics Korea said that November's
increase rate of durable goods sales was the largest on record since the NSO
began filing such data in 2006.
Durable goods refer to high-priced products such as cars, computers and other
equipment that can be used for more than a year. Car sales in November surged
111.5 percent from a year earlier, thanks to the government's tax incentives
aimed at bolstering new car sales, the agencies said.
The record increase in durable goods sales resulted in the nation's retail sales
for November increasing 12.2 percent, they noted.
It was the largest increase since July 2008, when the retail sales recorded a
12.7-percent growth. It also marked a seventh consecutive monthly rise since May
last year.
South Korea's economy, Asia's fourth-largest, chalked up a surprise 3.2 percent
gain in the third quarter from three months earlier, the fastest expansion in
more than seven years. The government predicted in December that the Korean
economy will grow 5 percent this year after an estimated 0.2 percent expansion in
2009.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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