Confidence among South Korean consumers over economic conditions kept improving for the fifth consecutive month on expectations for the new government, central bank data showed Tuesday.
The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) stood at 111.1 in June, up 3.1 points from a month earlier, Bank of Korea (BOK) data showed.
The index above 100 means optimists outnumbered pessimist. The index marked the highest in almost six and a half years since January 2011, keeping an upward trend for the fifth straight month.
The CCSI kept falling from 102.0 in October last year to 93.3 in January this year as the power vacuum was caused by the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye who had been ousted over corruption scandals.
The index, however, rebounded on expectations for the new government following the presidential impeachment.
President Moon Jae-in, who took office on May 10 after winning a landslide victory in the presidential by-election, saw his approval rating stay around 80 percent. It reflected high expectations for the new leader.
Sub-indices gained ground. The sentiment index for current economic conditions jumped 11 points to 93 in June, with the figure for job opportunity rising 8 points to 121.
Inflation expectations, which reflect outlook among consumers for headline inflation in the next 12 months, came in at 2.6 percent in June, up 0.1 percentage point from a month earlier.
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