South Korean consumer confidence fell in October amid concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapon test and a slowdown in Asia's fourth-largest economy, a government report showed Thursday.
The index measuring consumer confidence in economic and living conditions for the next six months stood at 93.9 in October, compared with 94.8 in September, according to the report by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
A reading below 100 indicates that a majority of consumers are pessimistic about the economy, their financial well-being and spending.
The data came hours after the Bank of Korea, the country's central bank, kept its key interest rate at a five-year high of 4.5 percent, saying inflation is in check and the economic recovery is still under way.
The confidence data reflects growing concerns about a slowdown in the pace of the economic recovery. North Korea's nuclear bomb test on Oct. 9 soured consumer sentiment, the office said.
Pyongyang said last week it will return to six-nation talks with the United States, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea, on condition the U.S. agree to discuss lifting financial sanctions on it.
"Improvement in consumer confidence in September should have continued...but North Korea's nuclear test negatively affected confidence," said Chung Chang-ho, assistant director general of the NSO's statistical analysis division.
The economy is expected to recover from its two-year slump by growing 5 percent for the full year. But there are still downside risks such as high oil prices and the local currency's sharp gains against the U.S. dollar.
The economy grew 4.6 percent annually in the third quarter of the year, slowing from the 5.3 percent on-year growth recorded in the second quarter.
According to the report, the consumer assessment index, which compares consumer views on the economy and current living conditions to those held six months earlier, stood at 80.7 in October, up from 78.9 the previous month.
The index measuring consumer confidence in the economy fell to 82.6 in October from 83.7 the previous month, while the index for future spending stood at 102.2, compared with 102.1 a month earlier, the report showed.
Seoul, Nov. 9 (Yonhap News)
S. Korean consumer sentiment falls in October on nuclear test, economic slowdown |
