S.Korea's domestic manufacturing supply grows in Q1

SEOUL, May 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's domestic supply in the manufacturing industry grew in the first quarter, showing signs of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, statistical office data showed Monday.

The index for domestic manufacturing supply, including production at home and imported manufacturing products, stood at 105.6 in the January-March quarter, up 3.3 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.

It marked the first rebound in four quarters, after sliding 4.9 percent in the second quarter, 0.5 percent in the third quarter and 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter each last year.

Facility investment expanded in the first quarter amid the export recovery, leading to a higher import of machinery equipment and electronic devices.

The supply by local manufacturers inched down 0.1 percent in the first quarter on a yearly basis, but the import of manufacturing products jumped 12.5 percent, logging the fastest growth since the second quarter of 2017.

The portion of import to the total domestic manufacturing supply came in at 28.5 percent in the quarter, the highest since relevant data began to be compiled in 2010.

The domestic supply of intermediate goods, such as materials and components used for manufacturing production, gained 3.6 percent on higher demand for auto parts and system chips.

The supply of capital goods rose 0.2 percent, and the consumer goods supply climbed 4.7 percent on solid demand for mobile phones and passenger cars.