April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korea‘s industrial electricity consumption rose 5.7 percent in the third quarter compared to a year ago, government data showed on Nov. 7.

The volume of power consumed by the nation’s industrial sector reached 73.28 billion kilowatt-hours in the July-September period, compared with 69.26 billion kWh in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The quarterly figure is larger than that of fourth quarter of 2013, when consumption moved up 5.5 percent on-year.

Industrial electricity sales are often considered a barometer of industrial activity, as companies use more power when business is good and cut back when demand is low.

The on-year hike was in line with upbeat exports, which jumped 24 percent in the third quarter to mark the fourth consecutive quarterly gain.

The ministry said electricity consumption by the semiconductor and chemical sectors each advanced 8.3 percent and 3.6 percent, while the shipbuilding sector saw its power usage drop 16.7 percent due to the fallout from restructuring.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)