FX.co ★ South Korea Consumer Confidence Eases In March

The consumer sentiment in South Korea experienced a dip in March, coming down from a six-month high noted in February, according to the survey results released by the Bank of Korea. The consumer confidence index fell slightly to 100.7 in March, down from 101.9 in February.

This survey was held between March 12 and 19, encompassing 2,500 households. The sub-index that evaluates households' current living standards also experienced a slight fall to 89 from 90. The metric for expected living standards saw a decrease as well, moving down to 93 from 94.

Parallelly, the index that gauges consumers' anticipated household income saw a decrease to 99 from 100. Concerning job prospects, South Koreans appeared slightly more pessimistic, causing an increase in the related index to 84 from 83.

Simultaneously, there was a drop in interest rate expectations in February, as the related index fell to 98 from 100. The inflation rate predicted for the forthcoming year was estimated at 3.2 percent, slightly more than the 3.0 percent projected in February.