Korea’s Consumer Sentiment Dips to 10-Year Low

South Korea's consumer sentiment in December sank to the worst level since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis as private spending continued to weaken, hit by the slumping economy, Yonhap News reported quoting the central bank Monday.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), the consumer survey index (CSI) _ a gauge of consumers' overall sense of their economic outlook, living conditions and future spending _ dropped to 81 in December, compared with 84 the previous month.

The December figure marked the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1998 when the index reached 80.

"A fall in income and a stagnant job market dampened overall consumer sentiment," the central bank said in a statement.

A reading below 100 means that pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey of 2,200 households in 56 major cities was conducted Dec. 12-19.

The index for the consumer spending outlook came in at 89 in December, marking the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1998 when it reached 83 and down from 94 in November, it added.

The outcome came as the South Korean economy grew 0.5 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier, the slowest growth in four years, as export growth declined amid sluggish domestic demand.

According to government data, the country's inflation-adjusted household spending contracted 2.4 percent in the third quarter of this year, the lowest since 2003, when related data started to be compiled.

In December, the BOK cut its key interest rate by a record full percentage point to an all-time low of 3 percent in a bid to prop up the economy. The bank has trimmed the rate by a combined 2.25 percentage points since early October.