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SEOUL, Sept 30 (Reuters) - South Korea's industrial output expanded in August from the previous month at its quickest pace in nine months, data showed on Monday, suggesting that local manufacturers were supported by firm exports during the period.
Industrial output rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent in August from the previous month, beating expectations, following a revised 0.3 percent fall in July, Statistics Korea data showed. July's reading was worse than the preliminary reading of a 0.1 percent rise.
The median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists was for the August industrial output to have risen by a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on monthly terms, with forecasts ranging from a 0.8 percent fall to a 1.5 percent rise.
On an annual basis, industrial output rose 3.3 percent in August after a revised 0.9 percent rise in July, data showed, compared with a median 2.4 percent rise tipped in the Reuters survey.
South Korea's industrial output closely mirrors its exports, as the country is home to some of the world's biggest manufacturers of cars, ships and smartphones. Exports in August grew by 7.7 percent from year earlier, the strongest in seven months.
The statistics agency's data also showed that service-sector output rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in August on a monthly basis after a revised 0.4 percent fall in July.
(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)