Industrial output increased for the first time in five months in November, but consumption declined for the third consecutive month.

Statistics Korea said on Thursday that the index of the nation’s overall industrial production came to 115-point-three in November, up one-tenth of a percent from a month earlier.

It marks the first growth in five months after declining for four straight months since July.

Retail sales, a key indicator of consumption levels, dropped one-point-eight percent in November, due in part to reduced demand for face-to-face services in the wake of the Itaewon crowd crush on October 29.

Facility investment, however, increased by one percent from a month earlier.

The composite coincident indicator measuring the current phase of the business cycle dropped by zero-point-seven points, declining for the first time in seven months and posting the largest drop in 30 months.

The composite leading indicator, which projects the future business cycle, also dropped by zero-point-two points to 99, declining for the fifth consecutive month.