SEOUL, May 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's industrial production fell last month on weak demand for semiconductor that offset the recovery in private consumption, a government report showed Wednesday.
Production in all industries reduced 1 percent in April from a month earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was a downturn from a 1.3 percent increase in March, marking the fastest decrease in 15 months.
Output in the mining and manufacturing sectors declined 2.2 percent, leading the April reduction.
Semiconductor production tumbled 9.2 percent on soft demand from China, South Korea's biggest trade partner. Auto production also slumped 2.6 percent.
Services industry production inched up 0.1 percent.
Inventory among manufacturers grew 2.7 percent. Manufacturers posted a factory utilization rate of 71.7 percent in April, down 1.1 percentage point from the previous month.
Retail sales increased 0.7 percent in April after falling 0.1 percent in the previous month. It was mainly attributable to the expected launch of a new government.
Facility investment dipped 4 percent, but machinery orders posted a double-digit growth on demand from public and electronics sectors.
