The Korea Development Institute says the local economy appears subdued...mainly due to low domestic demand. <br />According to the state-run think tank's monthly evaluation, exports remain strong... but investment continues to weaken.<br /> Ko Roon-hee zooms in on the KDI analysis.<br /> <br /> Researchers at the Korea Development Institute say weak demand domestically appears to have caused overall economic activity to stagnate.<br /><br /> According to KDI's monthly report released on Thursday, exports increased, but domestic demand remained weak,... which held back investment and consumption.<br /><br /> Back in August, KDI's report said the economy was "improving," but it did not use that language in the two months after that.<br /><br /> According to the latest report, investment in facilities decreased sharply in September, especially in the machinery sector, by almost 20 percent.<br />That was mainly because of fewer working days for the month.<br />Facilities investment had fallen in August, too, but by only 11 percent.<br /><br /> More grim numbers came from consumption. <br />Retail sales in September increased on year by only half a percent... compared to a gain the previous month of almost 6 percent.<br />The durable goods sector, in particular, fell by almost 10 percent... because of poor sales of passenger cars.<br /><br />September's industrial production also recorded negative growth,... but the institute says that was only a one-off dip because of a holiday.<br /><br /> There were some uplifting numbers in exports... thanks to semiconductors.<br />October's exports were up more than 22 percent on-year.<br />Breaking it down by item, semiconductors posted more than 20 percent growth, but the nation's shipbuilding industry continued to struggle,... marking a plunge in exports of more than 50 percent.<br /><br /> Earlier this week KDI lowered its growth forecast for the Korean economy for this year from 2-point-9 percent to 2-point-7 percent.<br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
