South Korea's industrial production rises 1.2% in December

 South Korea's industrial production rose 1.2 percent in December from a month earlier, posting the first rebound in three months, a government report showed Friday.

The production in all industries declined 1.3 percent in October and 0.4 percent in November each before gaining 1.2 percent in December on a month basis, according to Statistics Korea.

The rebound came on the back of improvement in both production and investment among manufacturers.

Production in the manufacturing and mining industries grew 1.2 percent in December from the previous month. It was attributable to the resumption of operations in oil refiners and petrochemical companies after the end of the regular maintenance period.

Output in chemical products increased 4.7 percent, with oil-refining activity expanding 7.3 percent.

Inventory among manufacturers reduced 3 percent, and the factory utilization rate in the manufacturing industry averaged 73.8 percent in December, up 1.0 percentage point from the previous month due to a year-end demand.

Production among service companies were steady last month due to slump in finance, insurance and wholesale & retail sectors that offset growth in transport and leisure sectors.

Industrial production increased 1.5 percent in 2015, up from a 1.3 percent expansion in 2014.