Increase in Gwangju Led by Electrical Equipment and Automobiles
Decline in Jeonnam Driven by Chemicals and Transport Equipment
Consumer Price Inflation Rises to 1.7-2.1%
While manufacturing production and exports in the Gwangju region increased, both production and exports in the Jeonnam region declined.
According to the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the Bank of Korea on August 13, the real economy of the Gwangju region in June showed an increase in manufacturing production compared to the same month of the previous year. On the demand side, exports rose, but both consumption and construction investment decreased. During the same period, all major indicators of the real economy in the Jeonnam region-including manufacturing production, consumption, construction investment, and exports-fell compared to the same month of the previous year.
Manufacturing production in Gwangju increased by 9.7% year-on-year, mainly driven by electrical equipment (+53.6%) and automobiles and trailers (+18.1%).
Consumption declined by 5.5% year-on-year, as sales at large retail stores such as department stores (-3.2%) and large supermarkets (-8.5%) both decreased.
The area of construction starts plunged by 87.1% year-on-year, primarily due to a sharp drop in residential buildings (-98.5%) and other categories such as ancillary facilities for multi-family housing (-88.8%).
Exports increased by 2.1% year-on-year, mainly due to machinery such as automobiles (+3.6%), while imports surged by 46.1%, led by electrical equipment and electronic components (+53.3%) and machinery (+69.8%).
The consumer price inflation rate (year-on-year) rose to 1.7%, mainly driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.7%) and food and accommodation (3.2%).
In Jeonnam, manufacturing production decreased by 5.0% year-on-year, mainly due to declines in chemicals and chemical products (-6.6%) and other transport equipment (-22.4%).
Sales at large retail stores also fell by 7.5% year-on-year. The area of construction starts decreased by 0.3% year-on-year, mainly due to a drop in residential buildings (-27.4%).
Exports declined by 7.3% year-on-year, led by decreases in chemical industry products (-26.1%) and petroleum products (-3.9%), while imports fell by 9.0%, mainly due to a decrease in agricultural, fishery, and mining products such as crude oil (-11.6%).
The consumer price inflation rate (year-on-year) in Jeonnam rose to 2.1%, mainly driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.3%) and food and accommodation (2.9%).
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