South Korea's factory output unexpectedly jumped in August by the fastest rate in more than three years, led by chip production, official data showed on Wednesday. The industrial output index rose 5.5% in August from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 2.0% fall in July, according to Statistics Korea. That contrasts with a median 0.2% fall forecast in a Reuters survey and marks the fastest monthly gain since June 2020.
Manufacturing output edged up 0.1% last month, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. Data for July was revised slightly lower to show production at factories rebounding 0.4% instead of 0.5% as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory output gaining 0.1%.
U.S. manufacturing output barely rose in August amid a decline in motor vehicle production, and activity could contract in the months ahead after the United Auto Workers (UAW) union embarked on strikes at three factories on Friday. The strikes, which for now only involve 12,700 of the affected 146,000 UAW members, were launched at a time when manufacturing is already struggling under the weight of the Federal Reserve's hefty interest rate increases, which have reduced demand for goods, typically