South Korea's economic recovery momentum still remains weak as private spending stagnates, a central bank report showed on Wednesday.
While Asia's fourth-largest economy continued to post a modest recovery pace in the past month, consumer sentiment remained feeble and companies are still reluctant to expand facility investment, according to the report by the Bank of Korea (BOK).
"On the demand side, a recovery in domestic demand is weak as consumer sentiment remains feeble... and the corporate sector's conservative stance toward capital spending remained almost unchanged compared to the third quarter," the central bank's Golden Book report said.
The central bank started releasing the Korean version of the U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige Book from last year to monitor economic activities in seven regional areas.
Data from the central bank showed that consumer sentiment in South Korea remained positive but soured to a 14-month low in November, reflecting concerns from the weakening Japanese yen and the intangible effects of government stimulus.
The overall consumer sentiment index (CSI) reached 103 in November, slipping from 105 in the previous month. The November reading marks the lowest level since 102 in September 2013 when uncertainties over U.S. Fed tapering and emerging market turmoil damped sentiment. It also marks a fall from the post-Sewol level when the deadly ferry sinking pummeled spending.
The BOK report showed the IT and automaking sectors posted a small rise in their production, while the service sector remained flat compared to the previous quarter.
The country's exports rose slightly, led by increased shipments of semiconductor and steel products, according to the report. (Yonhap)
