Industrial output dropped for the second straight month in February, owing to a spike in COVID-19 infections amid the spread of the omicron variant and the base effect.

According to Statistics Korea on Thursday, the nation's overall industrial production decreased zero-point-two percent on-month in February.

The country's overall output declined for the second straight month, the first back-to-back slide since it posted drops for five consecutive months from January to May in 2020.

Production in the mining and manufacturing industries increased zero-point-six percent from a month earlier, while service sector output dropped zero-point-three percent on-month.

Retail sales, a key indicator of consumption levels, gained zero-point-one percent from a month earlier.

Capital investment dropped five-point-seven percent on-month in February, the largest drop in two years.