SEOUL, Sept 30 Reuters South Korea39;s factory output in August beat market expectations and increased by the most in a year, led by production of cars and chips, government data showed on Monday.

The industrial output index rose 4.1 over the month on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a dip of 3.9 the previous month, according to Statistics Korea.

It was faster than a gain of 2.0 tipped in a Reuters poll of economists and the biggest rise since August 2023.

Production of automobiles jumped 22.7, while semiconductors grew 6.0.

Industrial production rebounded sharply as output disruptions in the auto industry eased, the finance ministry said after the data release.

The manufacturing sectorled economic recovery is continuing with exports expected to grow for a 12th consecutive month in September, the ministry said.

On an annual basis, the industrial output index rose 3.8, compared with gains of 5.2 the previous month and 1.9 expected by economists.

Monday39;s data also showed retail sales rose 1.7 in August, reversing a fall of 2.0 in July, marking the biggest monthly rise since February 2023.

Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill and Sam Holmes

Source Reuters