South Korea’s Consumer Sentiment Index Fell for Four Months in a Row

The consumer sentiment index of South Korea in March had a dip for four consecutive months towards its lowest in five months, as shown in the central bank survey on Tuesday while households believe that the current economic picture became even worse.

The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) by the Bank of Korea was decreased from 108.2 in February to 108.1 for this month. The index showed its weakest stance since October at a rate of 108.9. However, the forecast for today is higher than 100 and this means that many see an optimistic economic outlook for the next several months than the pessimists. The prospect of sub-indices households presents that South will experience Korea an economic downturn to 87 index points versus 89 in the previous month. On the other hand, the future outlook of sub-index declined by 1 point against 98 in February, according to BOK’s survey.

Moreover, the poll respondents were less pessimistic regarding job hunting, but the sub-index remained at 97 which is lower than the 100 index points. The survey further indicates that the median expectation for inflation rate next year will be 2.6 percent in March with a sustained growth in January.