Korean consumer sentiment dips in December

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment sank in December as
private spending continued to weaken, hit by the slumping economy, the central
bank said Monday.
According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), the consumer survey index (CSI) -- a gauge
of consumers' overall sense of their economic outlook, living conditions and
future spending -- dropped to 81 in December, compared to 84 the previous month.
The December figure marked the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1998 when
the index reached 80.
"A fall in income and stagnant job markets dampened overall consumer sentiment,"
the bank in a statement.
A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey of 2,200
households in 56 major cities was taken from Dec. 12-19.
The index for the consumer spending outlook came in at 89 in December, marking
the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1998 when it reached 83 and down
from 94 in November, it added.
The outcome came as the South Korean economy grew 0.5 percent in the third
quarter from three months earlier, the slowest growth in four years, as export
growth declined amid sluggish domestic demand.
According to government data, the country's inflation-adjusted household spending
contracted 2.4 percent in the third quarter of this year, the lowest since 2003,
when related data started to be compiled.
In December, the BOK cut its key interest rate by a record full percentage point
to an all-time low of 3 percent in a bid to prop up the economy. The bank has
trimmed the rate by a combined 2.25 percentage points since early October.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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