S.Korea Aug factory output falls far short of forecasts

SEOUL: South Korea's industrial output in August shrank for a second successive month and far more than expected from July, government data showed on Friday, as softening global demand hit Asia's fourth-largest economy hard.

The industrial output index fell by a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent in August from July after a revised 0.3 percent fall in July, data from the Statistics Korea showed.

The output index -- which covers manufacturing and mining production -- was expected to fall 0.3 percent from July after heavy rains hurt food industries and construction, according to a Reuters poll.

Factory output grew 4.8 percent last month from a year earlier, also missing the median forecast for a 6.0 percent expansion from the Reuters survey.

The composite leading indicator, a measure of future economic conditions, was up 2.0 percent in August from a year earlier, steady from July.

Copyright Reuters, 2011