Finance News
By Dan Saada
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South Korea's factories cranked out way more stuff in December. The country's industrial output shot up 1.7%, crushing forecasts that called for just a 0.5% bump.
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Nobody saw this coming, but electronics and car makers basically carried the whole show. These companies ramped up production big time, riding a wave of strong overseas demand…
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Electronics drove a huge chunk of the gains, which makes sense since that's basically South Korea's bread and butter for exports.
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Car production also helped push numbers higher. Hyundai Motor Group and Kia Motors both cranked up their assembly lines, responding to a slow but steady recovery in global…
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The government's taking notice of all this momentum. South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy basically said the country's manufacturing base is tougher than expected.
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But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Textiles and petrochemicals are still struggling to find their footing, lagging behind the electronics and automotive recovery.
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South Korea wants to keep this growth train rolling. The government's prioritizing investments in technology and infrastructure to support long-term industrial growth, though…
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The Bank of Korea's monetary policy decisions are getting extra scrutiny now. Interest rate adjustments are definitely on the table as officials try to balance inflation worries…
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Market watchers are already looking ahead to January's numbers to see if this momentum can stick around.
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The Korean won showed some muscle on January 29, holding steady against major currencies after the industrial output news broke.
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Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho jumped on the news, saying the government needs to keep supporting key industries.
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KB Securities analysts are scrambling to revise their forecasts for South Korea's first-quarter economic performance.
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Lee Jae-yong from Hana Financial Group isn't ready to pop champagne yet. Lee thinks December's numbers look good, but external factors like global economic conditions and…
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The Korea Development Institute suggested on January 30 that the government might tweak its economic strategies to leverage this industrial growth.
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Financial markets reacted quickly to the news. The KOSPI index closed 0.8% higher on January 29, with Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor shares posting solid gains.
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