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SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s factory output shrank at its sharpest pace in more than 11 years in April, official data showed on Friday, as a spike in the number of coronavirus infections and lockdown measures across the world decimated global demand.
Industrial output contracted by a seasonally adjusted 6.0% in April from a month earlier, nearly double the 3.2% fall tipped in a Reuters survey and the biggest drop since a 10.5% plunge in December 2008.
Output had risen unexpectedly by 4.7% in March, benefiting from lengthy shutdowns in competing Chinese factories, which boosted demand for Korean-made display panels and cars.
On a year-on-year basis, factory production fell 4.5%, reversing from a 7.4% gain in March and worse than an expected 0.5% decline.
(Reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
