Business sentiment drops on-month in February
- 6 years ago
Korean firms are feeling a little less confident about business conditions in the country.
The central bank says the slight downturn was mainly due to fewer working days in February... as it overlapped with the four-day Lunar New Year holiday.
Kim Ji-yeon has the details.
Business sentiment among Korean firms worsened for the second straight month in February.
The Bank of Korea says its business sentiment index or B-S-I among overall industries edged down one point from the previous month to 77.
It attributes the drop to fewer working days as the Lunar New Year holiday was in February this year.
The central bank also cited a steep decline among manufacturers which dropped two points from the previous month to 75... the lowest level since January last year.
A reading below 100 means there are more pessimists than optimists about the economy.
The BSI for the electronics sector tumbled six points from the previous month mainly due to sluggish sales of Apple's iPhone X... that affected local sales of smartphone components and prompted display prices to fall.
BSI among exporters dropped two points from the previous month to 84... due to increased trade protectionist measures from the U.S., including recent anti-dumping measures on steel imports.
On the other hand, business sentiment in the auto sector jumped ten points to 69 in February... as labor unions at the country's biggest automaker, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors called off their labor strikes in mid-January.
Sentiment among SMEs recovered slightly in February after dropping eight points in the previous month due to this year's hefty minimum wage increase.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
The central bank says the slight downturn was mainly due to fewer working days in February... as it overlapped with the four-day Lunar New Year holiday.
Kim Ji-yeon has the details.
Business sentiment among Korean firms worsened for the second straight month in February.
The Bank of Korea says its business sentiment index or B-S-I among overall industries edged down one point from the previous month to 77.
It attributes the drop to fewer working days as the Lunar New Year holiday was in February this year.
The central bank also cited a steep decline among manufacturers which dropped two points from the previous month to 75... the lowest level since January last year.
A reading below 100 means there are more pessimists than optimists about the economy.
The BSI for the electronics sector tumbled six points from the previous month mainly due to sluggish sales of Apple's iPhone X... that affected local sales of smartphone components and prompted display prices to fall.
BSI among exporters dropped two points from the previous month to 84... due to increased trade protectionist measures from the U.S., including recent anti-dumping measures on steel imports.
On the other hand, business sentiment in the auto sector jumped ten points to 69 in February... as labor unions at the country's biggest automaker, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors called off their labor strikes in mid-January.
Sentiment among SMEs recovered slightly in February after dropping eight points in the previous month due to this year's hefty minimum wage increase.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.