South Korea's manufacturing activity remained in the expansionary phase for 14 months running in November on brisk exports, a global market researcher said Wednesday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the country's manufacturing sector came to 50.9 last month, up 0.7 point from the previous month, according to a survey by IHS Markit.

Since October 2020, South Korea's PMI, a key measure of factory activity in a country, has been above the 50-point mark that separates contraction from expansion.

The index exceeded the 50-point mark to reach 51.2 in October last year as Asia's fourth-largest economy bounced back from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

IHS Markit said South Korea's manufacturing sentiment remained buoyant in November thanks to strong overseas shipments, despite the country's falling industrial production.

South Korea's exports shot up 32.1 percent on-year to reach an all-time monthly high of $60.44 billion in November on resilient global demand for chips and petrochemical products.

It represents the highest monthly figure since data tracking began in 1956, and it is the first time the monthly tally has topped the $60 billion mark.

The country's industrial output fell 1.9 percent in October from the previous month, the biggest on-month drop in 18 months, as production in the manufacturing sector lost steam amid global supply chain bottlenecks. (Yonhap)