Consumer sentiment drops in Oct. on stock market correction, Mideast tensions
Vegetables on sale at a supermarket in Seoul, Wednesday / Yonhap
Consumer sentiment fell in October due mainly to a stock market correction and prolonged Middle East tensions, the central bank said Tuesday.
The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) stood at 105.4 this month, down 1.2 points from September, according to a survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK).
A reading above 100 indicates that optimists outnumber pessimists, while a figure below 100 suggests the opposite.
"Pessimistic outlooks increased as the stock market correction and extended military tensions in the Middle East weighed heavily on consumer sentiment," the BOK said.
The subindex for people's assessment of current economic conditions came in at 82 in October, down 1 point from a month earlier.
The index for people's outlook for future economic conditions also fell 2 points to 88 over the same period.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 15.7 percent in the first three weeks of October on renewed concerns about the future of large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment.
The BOK survey was conducted among 2,500 households from Oct. 13-20.