S. Korean consumer sentiment rebounds in Oct.

SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer confidence bounced back in October after staying below par for the last two months, the central bank said Thursday.

The consumer sentiment index (CSI) -- a gauge of consumers' overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending -- stood at 100 last month, up from 99 in September, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a monthly report.

The sentiment index, a gauge of future private spending, fell below par in August for the first time in five months as concerns over U.S. economic growth and Europe's debt problem dimmed the global outlook.

A reading below the benchmark 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey, based on a poll of 2,056 households in 56 cities, was conducted from Oct. 14-21.

"There weren't significant negative or positive factors. It seems that consumer sentiment slightly improved amid slowing inflation and views the eurozone is moving closer to resolving its debt problem," said a BOK official.

South Korea's on-year inflation growth moderated to 4.3 percent in September from 5.3 percent in August.

Local consumers' inflation expectations slipped in October after hitting a near three-year high in the previous month.

South Korean consumers forecast inflation to reach an annual average of 4.2 percent over the next 12 months in October, down 0.1 percentage point from a month ago, according to the BOK.

In September, it marked the highest level since an identical 4.3 percent was tallied in November 2008.

BOK policymakers are in a dilemma over how to cope with lingering inflation concerns and heightened economic uncertainty sparked by dimmer global economic outlooks and the eurozone debt crisis.

"As I've emphasized many times, the BOK will continue to make efforts to normalize the policy stance if external economic uncertainties are reduced," Kim Choong-soo, the central bank governor, said in a meeting with reporters earlier this month.

South Korea has stood pat on its benchmark policy rate at 3.25 percent for four straight months.

The sub-index gauging consumers' assessment of current economic conditions gained by 2 to 66 after dipping to a six-month low in September, while the index measuring their outlook for the economy stayed unchanged at 78.

The index gauging the inflation level reached 145 for this month, up 1 point from the previous month, according to the BOK.