South Korea Manufacturing PMI Climbs To 47.7 - S&P Global

(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in South Korea continued to contract in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.7.

That's up from 47.5 in April, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

There were sharper contractions in the two main components of the headline PMI - output and new orders. Both measures saw quicker reductions in May. New orders fell at the fastest pace since June 2020, and the strongest rate in almost a decade if the COVID-19 pandemic period is excluded. Meanwhile, output fell at the quickest rate in just over two-and-a-half years.

Panel members often mentioned that a stagnant domestic economy and the impact of rising US tariffs had weighed heavily on demand and output in the latest survey period. Concurrently, international demand was also subdued and fell for the second month running, albeit at a softer rate than that seen in April. Respondents particularly mentioned the US as a source of falling new export orders.