Aerial view of the capital city of Seoul in South Korea, seen at sunset.
South Korea's factory activity contracted at the sharpest pace in 15 months in September as overseas demand slowed for the first time in the year, a private survey showed on Wednesday, suggesting a slow road to a full-blown economic recovery.
Output and new orders shrank in September, after gaining for five straight months, with the steepest slump in 11 months and 15 months, respectively.
Specifically, export sales to China, Japan, India and the United States weakened, according to the survey.
The survey showed backlogs of work, an indicator of near-term activity, fell by the most in five months, while optimism for the year ahead weakened sharply to the lowest level since December 2022.
Persons:
Usamah Bhatti
Organizations:
P Global, P Global Market Intelligence, Employment, Samsung Electronics, SK
Locations:
Seoul, South Korea, China, Japan, India, United States