Industrial output, retail sales inch up amid weak investment in January

South Korea's industrial output inched up in January despite the marked fall in semiconductor production, data showed Monday. Industrial output gained 0.4 percent on-month last month, the third consecutive on-year increase, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. But the output in the overall mining manufacturing sector shed 1.3 percent, driven by an 8.6 percent on-month fall in chip production. Compared with a year earlier, industrial output climbed 7.3 percent as that of semiconductors surged 44.1 percent, the data showed. Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, advanced 0.8 percent on-month in January, on growing sales of food, cosmetics and other non-durable goods. On an on-year basis, however, retail sales shed 3.4 percent. Facility investment tumbled 5.6 percent in January from the previous month, while construction investment jumped 12.4 percent on-month, the data showed. Source: Yonhap News Agency