Industrial output up 0.7 pct in 2023; retail sales, investment fall

SEOUL, South Korea's industrial output inched up last year on rising demand for semiconductors and vehicles, but retail sales and investment fell amid an economic slowdown, data showed Wednesday.Industrial output gained 0.7 percent in 2023 from a year earlier, though the growth slowed down from a 4.6 percent expansion in 2022, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, fell 1.4 percent on-year last year, as sales of food and other non-durable goods lost ground amid high inflationary pressure.Facility investment tumbled 5.5 percent in 2023, compared with a 3.3 percent on-year gain the previous year, the data showed.Source: Yonhap News Agency