In July, services production and facilities investment went up, while industrial production, retail sales, and construction investment fell. 

Despite increases in services production (+0.7% m-o-m, +2.2% y-o-y), the decrease in industrial production (-3.6% m-o-m, +5.5% y-o-y) and construction production (-1.7% m-o-m, -5.3% y-o-y) led to a decline in the entire production (-0.4% m-o-m, +2.7% y-o-y).

Facilities investment (+10.1% m-o-m, +18.5% y-o-y) climbed up, while retail sales (-1.9% m-o-m, -2.1% y-o-y) and construction investment (-1.7% m-o-m, -5.3% y-o-y) moved down. 

In August, exports grew by 11.4% from a year ago, thanks to the expanded exports of the IT sector including semiconductors. Average daily exports surged by 13.7% in August compared to the same month of last year.

The consumer sentiment index (CSI) in August dropped by 2.8 points month-on-month to 100.8. The composite business sentiment index (CBSI) fell by 2.6%p to 92.5 and the CBSI outlook for September decreased by 0.7 points month-on-month to 92.7.

The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index for July went down by -0.6 points compared to that of last month, with the cyclical indicator of the leading composite index staying flat.

In August, job growth saw an increase and consumer price growth declined. 

The economy added 123 thousand jobs year-on-year and the unemployment rate decreased by 0.1%p from a year ago to 1.9%.

The consumer price index (CPI) growth fell to 2.0% m-o-m while the CPI excluding the food and energy sectors increased by 2.1%, with the index excluding the agricultural and petroleum sectors up by 1.9%. The CPI for basic necessities moved up by 2.1%.

In August, stock prices dropped due to concerns over a potential slowdown in profitability of big tech and AI-related companies. In addition, Korean Treasury Bond yields plummeted driven by growing expectations of a potential interest rate cut by the U.S. Fed, and the Korean won strengthened.

In July, housing prices continued to rise (+0.15% m-o-m) and Jeonse[1] prices climbed (+0.16% m-o-m). 

With the Korean economy has recently been experiencing an expanding trend of price stability, the recovery momentum has been sustained mainly driven by robust export and manufacturing. While a moderate domestic demand recovery has been observed, particularly in facility investment and services, the pace of recovery varies across sectors.

Although the global economy is showing an overall recovery trend, mainly driven by the upturn in trade and the shift in monetary policies in major countries, the pace of recovery differs across regions. At the same time, geopolitical risks, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the potential escalation of conflicts in the Middle East, along with concerns about economic slowdowns in major economies, are contributing to increased uncertainty. 

Under these circumstances, the government will promptly implement key policy tasks of the ‘Livelihood Stabilization Measures Ahead of Chuseok’, such as anchoring price stability, providing tailored support for small business owners, and strengthening domestic demand. Also, the ‘Dynamic Economy Roadmap’ will be proceeded aiming to improve people’s quality of life and enhance the sustainability of the Korean economy.

Key Statistics

Employment

Consumer Price Index

                                                                                         (%)

Retail Sales

(Percentage change from the previous period, %)

1. Preliminary

Facility Investment Index

(Percentage change from the previous period, %)

1. Preliminary

Construction Completed

 (Percentage change from the previous period, %)

1. Preliminary

Exports and Imports

 (US$ billion, y-o-y, %)

Industrial Production (Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity and Gas Production)

                (Percentage change from the previous period, %)

  1. Preliminary

  2. Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity and Gas Production

  3. End-point (month, quarter, and year)

  4. Average operation ratio for the month (or quarter)

Service Output

           (Percentage change from the previous period, %)

    1. Preliminary

Composite Indices of Coincident and Leading Indicators

                                                                                           (Points)

1. Preliminary

Please refer to the attached files.