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S. Korea's consumer sentiment improves for 3rd month in February

SEOUL
2024-02-20 14:09

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SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment improved for the third successive month on the back of positive signs over the economy, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI), which gauges the sentiment of consumers over economic situation, rose 0.3 points over the month to 101.9 in February, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The index continued to increase since December last year due to export recovery, slower inflation and expectations for the end of the tightened monetary policy in the United States.

Outbound shipment jumped 18.0 percent in January from a year earlier, maintaining an upward trend for the fourth consecutive month.

Consumer prices added 2.8 percent in January on a yearly basis, falling below 3 percent in six months.

The BOK had left its policy rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January last year, after hiking it by 3.0 percentage points for the past one and a half years.

Inflation expectations, which measure the outlook among consumers over headline inflation for the next 12 months, stood unchanged at 3.0 percent in February compared to the previous month.

After peaking at 4.7 percent in July 2022, the inflation expectations had roughly been on the decline.

The results were based on a survey of 2,326 households conducted from Feb. 5 to 14.
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