South Korea's industrial output rose for the 13th straight month in July, in another sign the economic recovery remains solid, official figures showed Tuesday.
Production in mining and manufacturing grew 15.5 percent year on year last month, bolstered by semiconductors, electronics parts and machinery equipment, Statistics Korea said in a report.
Output increased 1.1 percent from June, it said.
Factories operated at 84.8 percent of capacity in July, up 0.9 percent from a month earlier.
The data is the latest in a series indicating that Asia's fourth-largest economy is recovering fast from the global downturn despite concerns about slower growth in the United States and China.
The economy expanded 7.2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier and gained 7.6 percent year-on-year in the first half.
The Bank of Korea predicts the economy may grow around 5.8 percent this year compared with a 0.2 percent gain in 2009.
Copyright 2010 AFP Asian Edition
