Confidence among South Korean businesses over economic conditions improved in the first month of this year thanks to rebound in exports of the export-driven economy, central bank data showed on Thursday.
The business sentiment index (BSI) among manufacturers stood at 75 in January, up 3 points from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the highest since April 2015.
The rebound came as exports, which account for about half of the economy, jumped 25 percent during the Jan. 1-20 period compared with a year ago.
The BSI for February, which reflects economic conditions in the next month, gained 5 points over the month to 76, indicating rosy outlook for the manufacturing sector.
The reading below 100 means pessimists outnumbered optimists. The figure was based on a BOK survey of 2,846 firms, including 1,751 manufacturers and 1,095 non-manufacturers, conducted on Jan. 12-19.
The BSI among non-manufacturers was unchanged at 74 compared with the previous month. The economic sentiment index, which combines the BSI with the consumer sentiment index, came in at 93.7 this month, up 2.1 points from a month ago.
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