South Korea Consumer Confidence Drops For Third Month

(RTTNews) - South Korea's consumer confidence index fell for the third straight month in December, a survey from the Bank of Korea showed Wednesday.

The consumer sentiment index dropped to 102.0 in December from 103.0 in the previous month. A reading above 100 indicates optimists outnumber pessimists.

Consumers' view on the current living standards declined by one point and stood at 89.0 in December, while the outlook index rose by 1 point to 98.

Consumer sentiment regarding current domestic economic conditions was down by three points from November. The corresponding index came in at 71, the outlook index was two points lower, at 85.

The consumer sentiment index for prospective changes in household income decreased by one point to 100 during the month, after remaining stable in November. The indicator for prospective household spending also eased to 106 from 108.

The inflation expectation for the coming year slowed to 2.6 in December from 2.7 in November. The survey was conducted among 2,200 households between December 10 and 17.