S. Korea's industrial power sales gain 8.5 pct in May

South Korea's industrial electricity sales grew steadily in May, fueled by a rise in demand from the machinery equipment, chemical and automaking sectors, a government report showed Wednesday.
Industrial electricity demand rose 8.5 percent on-year to 20.7 billion kilowatt-hours last month, though the growth slowed from a 9.1 percent increase in April, the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.
Industrial power sales are used as a barometer of industrial activity because companies use more electricity during times when business is good and cut back to cope with falls in orders.
"Last month's sales were helped by double-digit demand hikes in machinery and equipment manufacturers, chemical companies and carmakers," the ministry said. "Sales to shipbuilders, semiconductor manufacturers and steel mills all rose by more than 8 percent."
Demand from machinery and equipment manufacturers shot up 19.4 percent on-year, with sales to local chemical refineries and carmakers gaining 12.9 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively.
Industrial power sales cover both manufacturing and mining businesses, and accounted for 58.3 percent of all domestic electricity sales supplied by the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. in the cited month.
Overall sales of electricity, meanwhile, reached 35.5 billion kilowatt-hours last month, up 4.9 percent from a year earlier, marking the 26th consecutive month that sales have expanded. The number was unchanged from the 4.9 percent expansion reported in the previous month.
Total power sales include electricity used by educational institutions, homes, shops, farms and for public use, such as streetlights.