This file photo taken April 1, 2024, shows a port in the southeastern city of Busan. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s business sentiment improved for a fourth consecutive month in July amid a steady recovery in exports, which offsets a slowdown in private spending, a central bank poll showed Thursday.
Local companies’ business sentiment index (BSI) stood at 93.1 for the coming month, up from 91.8 the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea.
The index measures corporate prospects for business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.
The central bank said business sentiment rose as exports are likely to continue their upward trend.
The BSI for manufacturers came to 95.1 for July, up from 93.7 the previous month. The index for nonmanufacturing firms came in at 91.7, up from 90.4 over the cited period, the data showed.
South Korea’s exports extended their growth to the eighth straight month in May on the back of strong shipments of semiconductors.
Outbound shipments rose 11.7 percent on-year to US$58.1 billion last month, while imports shed 2 percent to $53.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.96 billion.
South Korea has been maintaining a trade surplus for 12 consecutive months.
(Yonhap)
