Credit: REUTERS/© Kim Hong-Ji / ReutersSEOUL, Aug 31 (Reuters) - South Korea's factory output grew for a second straight month in July, after marking the fastest growth since 2009 in June, though a resurgence in coronavirus infections is expected to further weigh on the economy.
Industrial production in July rose by a seasonally-adjusted 1.6% from a month earlier, Statistics Korea said on Monday, down from 7.2% in June and slightly missing the median forecast of a 1.9% rise.
But the economic recovery may lose momentum as South Korea extended Phase 2 social distancing rules - the second-strictest level - for at least another week and toughened restrictions on some businesses to battle the resurgence of the virus in August.
From a year earlier, factory output shrank 2.5%, worse than the previous month's 0.5% slide and the 1.2% fall tipped in a Reuters survey.
(Reporting by Joori Roh Editing by Paul Simao)
((joori.roh@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 6936 1493))
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