South Korea’s semiconductor stockpiles last month expanded at the fastest pace in more than six years, adding to concern about the outlook for exports that drive the country’s economic growth.
Nationwide inventory soared 79.8 percent from a year earlier, official data showed yesterday, up from a 53.8 percent jump in May.
At the same time, production and shipments decelerated, suggesting a slowdown in the nation’s most profitable industry.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The result casts a pall over the outlook for an economy where the central bank is in the midst of a year-long tightening cycle.
Memory chips are sold worldwide and underpin the strength of the won, which has been one of Asia’s worst performing currencies this year as trade deficits mount.
South Korea was in the middle of a two-year export slump when chip inventories soared by 104.1 percent in April 2016.
The accumulation in stockpiles comes as Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc, two of the world’s largest memorychip makers, warn that sales might weaken, adding to concerns about a global slowdown as inflation spurs global central banks to tighten.
The two firms’ shares prices have still gained over the past few weeks, as investors bet the companies would cut capital spending, a move that would eventually tighten supply.
South Korea’s overall industrial production last month rose 1.4 percent from a year earlier, less than the 2.1 percent forecast by economists.
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