SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s factory output grew for a second straight month in July, after marking the fastest growth since 2009 in June, though a resurgence in coronavirus infections is expected to further weigh on the economy.
Industrial production in July rose by a seasonally-adjusted 1.6% from a month earlier, Statistics Korea said on Monday, down from 7.2% in June and slightly missing the median forecast of a 1.9% rise.
But the economic recovery may lose momentum as South Korea extended Phase 2 social distancing rules – the second-strictest level – for at least another week and toughened restrictions on some businesses to battle the resurgence of the virus in August.
From a year earlier, factory output shrank 2.5%, worse than the previous month’s 0.5% slide and the 1.2% fall tipped in a Reuters survey.
(Reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Paul Simao)
