South Korea Nov retail sales fall for third straight month

People wearing masks walk in a shopping district amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Seoul, South Korea, March 16, 2022. REUTERS/Heo Ran/File photo

SEOUL  – South Korea’s retail sales fell for a third straight month in November, government data showed on Thursday, and were set to end the last quarter of 2022 with losses, reversing gains in the third quarter.

The country’s retail sales fell 1.8 percent in November, on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, following a 0.2 percent loss in October and 2 fall percent in September, according to Statistics Korea.

The output for the services sector decreased 0.6 percent, after falling 1.1 percent and 0.1 percent in October and September, respectively.

In the manufacturing sector, the output edged up by 0.4 percent, after four straight months of losses, although it posted the worst drop in 2-1/2 years of 3.7 percent on a year-on-year basis.