SEOUL, March 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's industrial output logged the fastest fall in almost five years amid lingering uncertainties at home and abroad, statistical office data showed Tuesday.

The seasonally-adjusted production index in all industries, which exclude the agriculture, livestock and fishery sector, dropped 2.7 percent in January compared to the previous month, according to Statistics Korea.

It marked the fastest reduction since February 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the Asian economy. The index grew 1.7 percent in December last year after sliding 1.2 percent in the previous month.

The January downturn was attributable to the remaining uncertainties both domestically and globally, including the U.S. tariff policy of the Trump administration and the political divide in South Korea, caused by President Yoon Suk-yeol's short martial law order.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.75 percent in February, after slashing it by the same percentage point in October and November last year.

Following the rate cut decision, the BOK revised down this year's growth outlook for the South Korean economy to 1.5 percent from 1.9 percent, as estimated in November last year.

Output in the mining and manufacturing industry declined 2.3 percent in January from a month earlier, after growing 3.9 percent in the previous month.

Production among manufacturers retreated 2.4 percent in the cited month, turning downward from an expansion of 4.0 percent in the prior month.

Production in machinery equipment and electronic components tumbled 7.7 percent and 8.1 percent in January on a monthly basis, but those in transport equipment and medical supplies gained more than 2 percent.

The ratio of inventory to shipment among manufacturers advanced 6.5 percentage points over the month to 110.1 percent in January.

Manufacturers posted an average capacity ratio of 73.8 percent in January, up 0.5 percentage points from a month ago.

Output in the construction industry plunged 4.3 percent in January compared to the previous month, but production in the public administration sector increased 2.2 percent.

Production in the service industry reduced 0.8 percent in January after mounting 1.1 percent in the previous month.

Output in the information and communications and the health and social welfare sectors gained ground, but those in the wholesale and retail and the transport and warehousing industries shrank 4.0 percent and 3.8 percent each.

The seasonally-adjusted retail sale index, which reflects private consumption, dipped 0.6 percent in January from a month earlier on lower demand for semi-durable and non-durable goods such as clothing and cosmetic products.

Facility investment dived 14.2 percent on weaker demand for transport equipment and machinery for semiconductor manufacturing.

Completed construction kept retreating in January as the performance of building construction and civil engineering diminished 4.1 percent and 5.2 percent each.

The cyclical variation factor for leading economic indicators, which gauges the outlook for future economic situations, slipped 0.3 points to 100.4 in January compared to the previous month.

The reading for coincident economic indicators, which measures the current economic condition, fell 0.4 points to 98.4 in the cited month. Enditem

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