Korean Businesses Most Pessimistic in OECD
27 June, 2018
Consumer sentiment in Korea has dropped to the lowest in 14 months as high unemployment figures are compounded by an intensifying trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
Korean companies, meanwhile, are the only ones in the OECD to have a pessimistic outlook on the economy.
The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that the consumer sentiment index this month fell 2.4 points compared to May to 105.5, which is still in optimistic territory but the lowest reading since April last year. The index shows how consumers view the state of the economy six months down the road.
A BOK official said, "Recent employment figures showed a very small rate of growth, while a reprise of the U.S.-China trade dispute hurt consumer sentiment."
Jobs grew by only 72,000 in May, the lowest since January 2010.
Meanwhile, Korea's reading on the OECD's business confidence index stood at 98.74, making it the only member country with a reading below 100 where pessimists outnumber optimists.
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