emirates7 - The Republic of Korea's industrial output remained flat in July from a month earlier due to a base effect and a strike in the automobile industry, data showed Monday, while retail sales lost ground and facility investment advanced.

Industrial production remained unchanged in July from a month earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

Industrial output fell 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent in April and May, respectively, before rebounding 2.4 percent in June.

Output in the mining and manufacturing sector, a key pillar of the economy, edged up 0.2 percent on the back of the electronic component segment, which increased 20.7 percent. The output in the automobile industry, on the other hand, fell 4.5 percent.

Semiconductor output also edged up 0.5 percent.

Service sector output, however, contracted 1.3 percent from a month earlier in July. It was the sharpest since 1.7 percent posted in February 2022.

Output in the information and communication segment rose 3.5 percent, while that in the finance and insurance segment decreased 4.8 percent.

Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, fell 2.4 percent over the period, led mainly by a decline in durable goods, including cars, amid high consumer prices.

The report showed that sales of semidurable goods, such as clothes, fell 1.4 percent, while sales of durable goods slid 7.7 percent. Sales of nondurable goods, including cosmetics, slipped 0.1 percent.