South Korea Business Confidence Improves Slightly

(RTTNews) - Business sentiment in South Korea improved slightly at the start of the year, and the outlook brightened further, the latest survey from the Bank of Korea showed on Thursday.

The Business Survey Index on business conditions in the manufacturing sector rose to 71 in January from 70 in December.

The survey showed that the outlook strengthened for the second straight month, with the index rising to 71 from 69.

Manufacturers reported a rise in both export-oriented and domestic demands.

In the non-manufacturing sector, the business morale index weakened by 3 points to 67, while the outlook for the same month remained stable at 68.

The Economic Sentiment Index, which combines the BSI and the Consumer Survey Index, for January was 91.5, up somewhat from 91.4 in the prior month.

The survey was conducted among 3,255 companies between January 9 and 16.