SEOUL : South Korea’s factory activity shrank for a third straight month in September, and by the sharpest pace in more than two years, amid weakening global demand, a private-sector survey showed on Tuesday.
The S&P Global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) posted a slight fall to a seasonally-adjusted 47.3 in September from 47.6 in August, marking the third month in a row under the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction.
The index extended declines for a fifth straight month and hit the lowest level since July 2020, indicating the sharpest pace of contraction in 26 months.
Output shrank for a fifth month and by the most since June 2020, with some companies also affected by a typhoon that hit industrial areas of South Korea, according to the survey.
The subindexes showed new orders fell for a third straight month and exports decreased for a seventh month, although both declines were smaller than the previous month. There…
