Consumer sentiment falls in June

Korea’s consumer confidence fell in June from the previous month due to persistent eurozone uncertainties and a slowdown in domestic production and spending, the central bank said Tuesday.

The consumer sentiment index, which gauges consumers’ overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending, stood at 101 for this month, compared with 105 in May, according to the Bank of Korea. 

A reading above the benchmark 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The survey, based on a poll of 2,072 households in 56 cities nationwide, was conducted from June 12-19.

“The monthly sentiment, which rose for four straight months before the latest fall, was affected by concerns of Greece exiting the eurozone, Spain’s banking sector woes and sluggish growth in local industrial production and consumption,” a BOK official said.

The survey, in addition, showed the expected inflation rate over the next 12 months standing at 3.7 percent, unchanged from the previous month’s estimate, according to the central bank.

The country’s consumer prices grew 2.5 percent on-year in May, down from 4 percent tallied for the whole of 2011, and unchanged compared to April.

The BOK, meanwhile, left its key policy rate unchanged at 3.25 percent for the 12th straight month in June in the face of persistent challenges posed by European fiscal concerns and weak domestic economic growth. 

(Yonhap News)